The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning reignite their fierce rivalry in the Eastern Conference playoffs, marking their fourth postseason meeting in five years. After winning the East in 2023, Florida faces the three-time defending conference champion Lightning, who won the previous three playoff matchups. Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, both Stanley Cup champions, have shown playoff readiness this season. Notably, Tampa's Nikita Kucherov, this year's scoring champion, faces a historical trend where no scoring leader has won the Cup since 2009. With both teams evenly matched in regular-season results, this series promises to be tightly contested.