Panthers learn ‘another level’ is needed to succeed in Stanley Cup Playoffs

An historic season for the Florida Panthers ended in a sweep.

The Panthers’ 2-0 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning made them the second NHL Presidents’ Trophy winning team in four seasons and third since 1995 to have their season end via a sweep. The highest scoring team during the regular season (337 goals) could not solve Andrei Vasilevskiy, who posted a .938 even strength save percentage and a 6.53 goals saved above average in the series, per Natural Stat Trick.

“I mean, they’re Stanley Cup champions for a reason, and [it’s] their evolution of how they were once a high-flying kind of offensive team and they found their recipe how to win and they stick with it,” said Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette. “Obviously, we aspire to be them, and this was another learning experience for us, and we need to be better.”

A sweep can cause a team like the Panthers, who had visions of the Stanley Cup this season, to go one of two ways. It can cause overreaction in the off-season, which will be interesting to follow anyway as they are tight up near the salary cap ceiling. Or, it can fuel the team to erase this memory next season, much like the Lightning did in after the Columbus Blue Jackets shocked the hockey world and swept them in 2019. Tampa Bay has responded with 10 consecutive Stanley Cup playoffs series wins and counting.

According to Cap Friendly, the Panthers have a little under $4 million in cap space heading into the summer. (Aleksander Barkov’s eight-year, $80 million extension kicks in next season.) Trade deadline acquisitions Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot, both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, will likely cash in elsewhere. Mason Marchment, also a pending UFA, should get a nice raise after a