There’s nothing better than when two teams in the same metropolitan area, province or state battle in a postseason series. 
The Eastern Conference has two “battles” this season. We’ve already looked at the Battle of Alberta, but this postseason will have the Battle of Florida in the first round as well. Both the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have found success in the past few seasons, and this will be the fourth edition of the matchup in the postseason.
The first was back in 2020-21. The Panthers finished second in the “Central” Division during the pandemic-impacted season while the Lightning finished third. It was the Lightning that took the series in six, en route to their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.
In 2021-22, the Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy with 122 points. They defeated the Washington Capitals in six games. On the west coast of Florida, the Lightning finished third in the Atlantic Division, but were able to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games, pretty typical for the Leafs. In round two, they easily took out the Panthers, sweeping their rivals.
The two teams didn’t match up in the 2023 postseason. Florida just barely sneaked into the playoffs, but overcame a 3-1 deficit to the Boston Bruins, defeating them in seven games. In the Lightning’s first round, they fell in six games to the Maple Leafs, breaking a 19-year-old curse for the centre of the universe. Florida steamrolled the Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
That brings us to last season. The Panthers finished first in the Atlantic Division for the second time in three seasons in 2024. On the other hand, the Lightning limped into the postseason, finishing in the first wild card spot with 98 points. It went as you’d expect, as the Panthers won in five games. Still, all but one of the Lightning’s losses were close, as they lost 3-2, 3-2 (but in overtime), and 5-3 in the first three games.
With that being said, this year’s edition of the Battle of Florida will be a lot closer. At the trade deadline, the Lightning added Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from the Seattle Kraken. Add the fact that they signed Jake Guentzel and lost Steven Stamkos, which looks like a great decision in hindsight, and the Lightning look like legitimate contenders.
It was the Panthers’ turn to limp into the postseason this year. Over their last 10 games, the reigning Stanley Cup champions went 3-6-1 to lose home ice advantage in the first round. They missed one of their top defenceman, Aaron Ekblad, during this time. Of course, the Panthers also made some moves before the deadline. Namely, they acquired Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins, as well as Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks.
It’s going to be a fun series, and hopefully the Panthers are eliminated in the first round!

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.