Panthers sweep at hands of Lightning ‘tough pill to swallow’

“I think we’re closer than ever,” Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. “But we got swept, and there’s another level we’ve got to climb still. We’re still climbing, and I thought hoping — not hoping, but I believe — we were ready for that next step, and unfortunately, we fell short.”

The Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the NHL team with the best record in the regular season for the first time, setting team records for wins (58) and points (122). They scored 337 goals, more than any NHL team since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins (362). Then they defeated the Washington Capitals in six games in the first round, winning a playoff series for the first time since 1996.

“Contributions up and down the lineup every night got us to where we were in the regular season and got us through Washington,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Yeah, I mean, you can’t say enough about that. The effort, obviously, was there. No doubt about it. To a man.”

[RELATED: Complete Panthers vs. Lightning series coverage]

But for the second straight season, the Panthers ran into the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning, and this time they scored three goals in four games. They were shut out Monday for the first time since they were eliminated by a 4-0 loss to the Lightning in Game 6 of the first round last year.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Ekblad said. “Getting swept is tough. It hurts. It stings. There’s no doubt about it.”

The Panthers had several players who set NHL career highs in the regular season, starting with forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who set a team record with 115 points (30 goals, 85 assists). But they struggled against Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 151 of 154 shots, and his teammates, who blocked 77 shot attempts. Huberdeau was limited to two assists in the series.

“If we get a chance to shoot, they really, really wanted to block shots, and they block a lot of them,” Panthers center Aleksander Barkov said. “And then if something gets through, Vasilevskiy makes the first save, and they didn’t let us go for rebounds. They box out really well. They play really tight defense. It was our job to find a way to get there for the rebounds, for the pucks that were laying there, but we just couldn’t.”

Brunette took responsibility for the power play, which went 1-for-31 in the playoffs, including 1-for-13 against the Lightning.

“I’m really disappointed in my effort with the power play,” Brunette said. “I don’t know if I trusted too much that we were going to turn it around. That one, I’ll kick myself all summer. It’s already caused me sleepless nights, and it might cause me a sleepless summer.”

The Panthers have questions to answer this summer. Will Brunette be back? He took over after Joel Quenneville resigned Oct. 28 and became a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the coach of the year. Brunette deferred to management and said he had to speak to his wife. What about the potential unrestricted free agents, including forward Claude Giroux and defenseman Ben Chiarot?

Video: Lightning complete the sweep with Game 4 win

But the core of the team will return and can learn from this. The Lightning won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2018-19 and scored 319 goals, which, at the time, was more than any NHL team since 1995-96. They were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now they’re trying to become the first team to win the Cup three years in a row since the New York Islanders won it four years in a row from 1980-83.

“I mean, they’re Stanley Cup champions for a reason, and [it’s] their evolution of how they were once a high-flying kind of offensive team and they found their recipe how to win and they stick with it,” Brunette said. “Obviously, we aspire to be them, and this was another learning experience for us, and we need to be better.”

Brunette said the Panthers can learn from the Lightning’s will to win and attention to detail, from captain Steven Stamkos on down.

“The learning is all the little things they do that win hockey games, how they block shots,” Brunette said. “I mean, they’ve got a guy like their captain, who has scored 60 goals in this league, and he’s playing defense, blocking shots. He’s willing his team to win, and they’re all like that. That’s the reason why they win.”

Maybe that will be the reason the Panthers win someday.

“It was a great experience,” Brunette said. “It was a fun group to coach. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of their effort, and I think there’s more there. I believe the group will take another step. They’ll get better.”