Lightning look ahead after first-round loss to Panthers

Expectations were high this year in Tampa Bay. After an early exit last spring, the belief inside the room — and across the fan base — was that this version of the Lightning was more equipped to go on a deep playoff run.

On Friday in his exit interview, Andrei Vasilevskiy didn’t mask his frustration as he reflected on the Lightning’s early playoff exit.

“I think time will heal, I guess,” said Vasilevskiy. “High expectations, but none delivered. I just have no answers for you, unfortunately, at this time.”

“When you’re that consistent throughout the full series, you get all the lucky bounces,” he said of the Panthers. “That was a big factor too. We used to play like that back in 2018-19. We did some good things this regular season, unfortunately it didn't click in the playoffs.”

Winning consistently in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and emerging as a championship-caliber team is no easy feat, and if it was every team would do it.

It wasn’t long ago that the Lightning dominated the league, and in those years they were a total juggernaut. In the last two seasons, Tampa Bay has watched Florida mirror that same formula and run with it.

In 2022, when the Lightning swept the Panthers out of the playoffs, Florida was left searching for answers — admitting they had no choice but to figure out how to beat Tampa. Now it’s the Lightning’s turn to flip the script.

“This group picked each other up all of the time, and Victor (Hedman) was a big part of that, especially in his first year as captain and taking over for an icon here,” said Jon Cooper. “His leadership and Ryan (McDonagh), (Nikita) Kucherov and (Brandon) Hagel, you go down the line of guys that were inclusive as a team. There weren’t cliques or any of the stuff that went on that I have seen in years past. That was not this group. That is why we had the season we did, and I cannot say enough great things about the guys.”

“It just wasn't our time this year, and that's what's tough, because you work all year, it's the summer, it's preseason, a lot of ups and downs just to get yourself into the playoffs,” 

Last summer general manager Julien BriseBois aggressively addressed where the Lightning needed work, and overall they were a much more complete team — better both defensively and at 5-on-5. BriseBois didn’t specify where moves would be made this offseason, but he doesn't feel the Lightning are too far off from where they need to be. 

“History is written by the victors, and when you win you are perceived as being better than you actually are,” said BriseBois. “When you lose, you are perceived as being worse than you actually are. But the reality is that we have one heck of a great hockey team.”

“Even with having a great hockey team, even with having a legitimate Stanley Cup-contending team year in and year out, most seasons will end in disappointment. You need breaks along the way. But first, you need a really good hockey team, and we have a really good hockey team. And we’re gonna have a really good hockey team again next year.”