Lightning HC Jon Cooper laments Round 1 matchup against Panthers after elimination from 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Tampa Bay Lightning were knocked out of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Florida won the series 4-1 and moved to the second round. It was the second straight year Florida eliminated Tampa Bay in the playoffs.

Head coach Jon Cooper spoke to reporters after the loss. He said Florida is no longer just a good team. In his words, they are now “an exceptional team” that has learned how to win. Cooper praised the Panthers’ growth since their comeback against Boston two years ago.

Cooper said not many teams know how to win in the playoffs. He added that Tampa had that for over a decade. Now, Florida has that same edge.

"It's unfortunate we've had to run into them," Cooper said (via NHL.com). "Whether the series they swept us or was 4-1 or 4-2, to me, that's kind of irrelevant. They beat us, and we're in a really tough division, and we've been the rep in the Conference Final or in the Stanley Cup Final the last five years. Was our turn for a while. Now it's theirs, and our job is to make sure it's our turn again."

Lightning took an early lead in Game 5. Gage Goncalves scored at 2:33 of the first period. But the Panthers replied quickly as Carter Verhaeghe tied the game with a power-play goal. Anton Lundell then gave Florida a 2-1 lead. Nick Paul tied it again for Tampa, but Florida kept coming.

Aleksander Barkov scored early in the second period. Jake Guentzel answered with a power-play goal to make it 3-3. Sam Bennett then gave Florida the lead again with a goal after leaving the penalty box. Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart added third-period goals to seal the win.

The Lightning have now lost in the first round for three straight years. Florida will play either Toronto or Ottawa in the second round. The Panthers are the defending champions and have reached the second round for four straight years.

Lightning captain Victor Hedman on team's playoff exit

Victor Hedman had a strong 2024-25 regular season, but couldn't take his team on a deep playoff run. He scored 15 goals and added 51 assists for 66 points, with a +18 rating.

Speaking to reporters after the Game 5 loss, the Lightning captain shared his disappointment.

"They are a good team and so are we, but I feel like it was a closer series this year than last year," Hedman said (via NHL.com). "At the end of the day it's the same result. We're obviously very disappointed in the outcome of this series. Just congratulate them and wish them the best of luck."

At 34 years old, Headman was leading the team from the back end and had three assists in the playoffs.