Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe speaks after Florida's 5-2 win over Toronto on April 16. The Florida Panthers were one of the first teams in the NHL to wrap up their regular season schedule. Florida defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena to close out their 82-game schedule. Now the Panthers have to wait at least another four days until they can begin their postseason journey, facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] The defending Eastern Conference Champions, Florida is hoping to finish the job they nearly completed last year, coming three wins shy of winning the Stanley Cup. Their path in 2024 looks to be just as challenging, and it starts with a matchup against Florida's oldest and most bitter rival. "We are very excited for this opportunity to be back in the playoffs after the way last year went," said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk. "I just think its super fitting for us to be playing Tampa in this first round. What an unbelievable run they've been on since Christmas and the All Star break. They're playing very well and we're playing well, so I think it's going to make for a great series." Indeed, it always makes for great playoff drama when the teams facing each other already have plenty of history and bad blood. With Florida and Tampa, there will be no shortage of either. "It's funny how things sometimes work out like that," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said of facing Tampa Bay. "It's a great rivalry. I'm sure the fans will love it, and we're really excited for it." This will mark the third time in four seasons that the Panthers and Lightning will meet in the playoffs. So far, Tampa Bay has gotten the better of their cross-state rivals, defeating Florida in six games during the opening round of the 2021 playoffs and then sweeping the Cats out of the second round the following year. But as most in the Panthers locker room would tell you, this Florida team is nothing like the one that lost to the Lightning in 2022. "We're a completely different team," said Bennett. "We play a different game. We have different systems. We're honestly…we have a lot of the same guys, but we're a completely different team, so you can't really take too much from that series." This season, Florida and Tampa Bay met three times, with the Panthers winning twice and the Bolts once. The games were marked by high scoring (Florida outscored Tampa 15-9 during the three meetings) and plenty of extracurricular activities. "It's always fireworks when we play those guys," said Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe. "It's always a good game. They're an awesome team and really skilled, physical, they have all the elements to a really good team, so it's gonna be two good teams going at it." There are a handful players on Florida's roster who were not part of the previous playoff meetings between the Cats and Bolts. Also not there was Florida's current head coach, Paul Maurice. "It’s gonna be great," Maurice said of the matchup. "Both teams know how to play hard, both teams have some high-end skill on it. It'll be a great battle, it’ll be great for the fans. The energy, I haven't experienced it yet, I'm new to this. I'm looking forward to it." In the two seasons that have passed since the Panthers and Lightning last met in the playoffs, the years Maurice has been coach, Florida holds a 4-2-1 record against Tampa. Like Maurice, Tkachuk has also yet to experience a playoff series against the Bolts. When he arrived during the summer of 2022, Tkachuk famously professed his hatred for Tampa Bay during his introductory press conference. "I hate Edmonton, but I hate Tampa more now," he said at the time. Now he gets to feel the fire firsthand. "I was just thrown into the fire with the trade, so you kinda have to, right?" Tkachuk said of his hate comments. "Now playing them in a playoff series, especially the way Tampa has been the perennial team and the top team in the league for the last, not even since they won (their Stanley Cups), even before that, they've had probably the best teams throughout the season, so hopefully this is just a way for us to show that we feel we're one of those teams now. There's just no better way for us to start this journey than to play Tampa first. I think it's perfect, a perfect opportunity for us, and what a great team over there, so we're gonna have to be at our best." Game 1 between the Panthers and Lightning is set for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. from Sunrise. 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