But this time there's a twist. In 2021 and 2022, the Lightning were the defending Stanley Cup champion; this time the Panthers are. Each time the two teams have faced each other, the winner of the series has gone on to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Game 4 between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning produced one of the wildest sequences of the Stanley Cup playoffs through Monday and an all-time record. The game started slowly with a scoreless first period. The Panthers' Anton Lundell opened the scoring nine minutes into the second.