If the Stanley Cup winner hasn't won the title yet, the Florida Panthers' fifth elimination against Tampa Bay on Wednesday night, the Lightning admitted the "Florida Battle" with their state rivals.

"It's our turn for a while," said coach Jon Cooper. "It's our job to make sure it's our turn."

"In the last period, there were only a few teams who really knew how to (win). We were one of them and now they were one of them. Unfortunately, we had to meet them. Whether they were sweeping us or 4-1, it didn't matter. They beat us."

The Lightning canceled their battle 4-2 in 2021 and 4-0 in 2022, reaching the Stanley Cup finals in both seasons. But the Panthers have flipped the script, expelled Lightning in five games last season, winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and then repeated the feat this season.

"It's the same as last year, but this year feels different," said Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman. "It feels closer. But we can't finish. They're a good team. So are we. Very disappointed with the results of this series."

Game 5 is another example of the current nature of competitive imbalance. Lightning took the lead in the first stage, only giving up for 2 minutes after 48 seconds. Tampa Bay will tie the score twice after Florida’s goal, but can no longer lead. Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart's third-stage goal eliminated the game.

"The game is very close," said Lightning striker Nick Paul. "They found a way to win. We didn't."

Tampa Bay has dropped to 1-9 in the last 10 home playoff games.

The series was physically and annoying, with both teams having players suspended: Brandon Hagel of Tampa missed Game 3 after Aleksander Barkov was hit, and then Florida's Aaron Ekblad had two hits in injury in Game 4.

Although all the Panthers' top players hit the scoring table in Game 5, the Lightning didn't get any point from star winger Nikita Kucherov or center Brayden Point. Kucherov scored three assists in his only win in the Tampa series. He had only one assist in four defeats.

"Every year, it's getting harder and harder," Balkov said. "They won the cup. They've been in the finals. They know what to do. Now we do the same thing. We know too. So it's a very tough series. This year, it's even harder."

The Panthers advanced, facing the winner of the Toronto Maple Leaf Series, against the Ottawa Senators, with the Leafs leading 3-2. Florida is trying to match the Lightning, the last team to reach the Stanley Cup finals for three consecutive seasons (2020-22).

“They built a great fan base there,” Cooper said. “I remember playing games there, we had more fans in the building than they did. They did a great job of building brands and building teams, and they were rewarded for it.”

Meanwhile, Lightning will begin the process of trying to figure out how to surpass its competitors again.

"They have an extraordinary team," Cooper said. "It's not just a normal team, but a great team. The two teams that just joined have had a lot of success. Unfortunately, we haven't seen it lately. We know where we have to go."