Panthers’ unexpected hero makes franchise history vs. Lightning

For the second consecutive year, the Panthers have won the Battle of Florida. And in Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Wednesday night, Eetu Luostarinen was the unlikely hero, recording four points in a 6-3, series-clinching win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In the process, the 26-year-old made franchise history:

“Eetu Luostarinen is just the fifth player in Florida Panthers history to log at least four points in a playoff game — joining Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Ray Shepard,” reported The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson shortly after the victory.

It seems like it was a different player stepping up every game for the Panthers in this series, but it was the third line of Luostarinen, Brad Marchand and Anton Lundell that was the difference on Wednesday. The trio combined for nine points, giving Tampa Bay all it could handle and then some.

“He’s been great ever since he came to the Panthers and he’s a great guy to have around,” captain Aleksander Barkov said of Luostarinen, per NHL.com’s Corey Long.

“You see how much skill he has that maybe doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet. He kills penalties with his high hockey IQ, he’s really good on the forecheck … and today he got rewarded with four points. He has been very important for us since he got here, and he keeps getting better.”

Panthers now turn focus to Round 2

Florida has just looked dominant in the postseason ever since trading for Matthew Tkachuk in the summer of 2022. In 2022-23, the team upset a historic Boston Bruins team in Round 1 before marching all the way to the Stanley Cup Final and eventually losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

Last season, the Panthers finally got the job done, and it began in the first round. Just like this year, Florida beat Tampa Bay in five games, the same squad that won Lord Stanley in 2020 and 2021 and came within two victories of the three peat in 2022. The Panthers then beat the Bruins in six, New York Rangers in six, and Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling Game 7 to win their inaugural championship.

This time around, Paul Maurice’s team again looks like a wagon, and they’ll await the winner of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2. The Leafs currently hold a 3-2 series lead, with Game 6 set for Thursday night in Canada’s capital.

Regardless of who they play, there’s a ton of belief in Florida that the Panthers will again come out of the Eastern Conference, as they have each of the last two years.

“They have an exceptional team, not just an average team, they have an exceptional team,” said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, per Long. “There’s only a few teams in the last little while that really know how to win in the playoffs consistently. We were one of them and now they’re one of them. It’s unfortunate we’ve had to run into them. Whether this series they swept us, or it was 4-1 or 4-2 … to me that’s kind of irrelevant. They beat us.”

It’ll be interesting to see if anyone can take out the Atlantic Division behemoths on their quest for back-to-back titles in 2025.