Andrei Vasilevskiy drops fiery NSFW rant on Lightning’s home struggles vs Panthers

Following their elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was not happy.

The Tampa Bay Lightning may have drawn first blood in the inaugural “Battle of Florida” in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs (followed by another series victory in 2022), but since then, the Panthers have had their number.

On Wednesday, the Panthers eliminated the Lightning from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season. They will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, while the Lightning are once again left wondering where things went wrong.

Following the decisive Game 5 loss to the Panthers at Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was brutally honest and dropped an NSFW take on how he thought the series went, per TSN.

“When you go out there, you start the series at home with six goals against…What's our home playoff record in the last like 10 games?” Vasilevskiy said. “I think we've won just one or two? It's like, ‘What the f— is this?' I just feel bad for the fans. They deserve much better than this.”

Dating back to their appearance in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche, the Lightning have managed a mere two victories in the postseason on home ice.

“The thing went somewhat sideways right away for us in Game 1,” Vasilevskiy said. “Great play by the and some bad luck on our side. I thought we did a much better job defensively the new few games, but it just didn't work for us.”

The 2022 Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers was the last time that the Lightning won a postseason series. They've been eliminated in the opening round by the Toronto Maple Leafs (2023) and the Panthers (2024, 2025) in each of the last three years.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is with the Lightning for the long haul

The Russian-born goaltender, who has a pair of Stanley Cup wins on his resume, won't be departing Tampa Bay any time soon. He's under contract through 2027, having signed an eight-year, $76 million contract in 2019 with a $9.5 million cap hit.

With a regular season record of 38-20-5, a 2.18 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage and six shutouts, Vasilevskiy was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender; he's already earned the award once in 2018-19 and has been nominated five times.

Vasilevskiy is one of the best goalies in the NHL. Moreover, he is one of the main reasons the Lightning are as good as they have been over the last decade. Changes may come to Tampa Bay over the summer. However, Vasilevskiy is likely one player who is secure in his spot on the roster.