The argument can begin now that the 2025 Stanley Cup is in the history books. Who had the best three-year run in the Stanley Cup Finals?
Was it the Florida Panthers who played in the Cup final in 2023, lost to Vegas, and won in 2024 and 2025?
Or was it the team from up north, the Panthers’ arch-rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were the first team in the Sunshine State to play in three consecutive finals? The Lightning did it in 2020 and 2021, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups before being beaten by Colorado in the 2022 Cup final.
Many fans display ignorance whenever their fingers hit another letter on the keyboard.
Do you think the Panthers’ run is better than the Lightning’s, and it’s not even close? Come down off planet, delusional.
Or if you think the Lightning run was much better than this three-year Panthers run, you are displaying your ignorance.
During the Panthers’ current Stanley Cup run, they have owned the Tampa Bay Lightning, knocking them out of the playoffs the last two seasons.
During the Lightning’s Stanley Cup run from 2020 to 2022, the Lightning dominated the Panthers, knocking them out of the playoffs in two seasons.
During Tampa’s three-year run, the Lightning goalie was future Hall of Famer Andrei Vasilevskiy, one of the world’s top goaltenders. Vasilevskiy had a 48-23 record during his cup run and a 2.10 GAA over the three playoff runs. He also had a sparkling 1.90 GAA during the cup runs in 2020 and 2021 and was the Conn Smythe winner in 2021.
During their current run, the Panthers’ goalie is also a future Hall of Famer in Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky has a record of 44-21 during the Panthers’ cup run the last three seasons with a 2.43 GAA.
The edge in goalie goes to Vasilevskiy.
The Lightning also had two and possibly three future Hall of Famers as part of their forward group. Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are locks for the HOF, while Brayden Point slowly plays his way into HOF consideration.
The Panthers have Matthew Tkachuk, who should be a surefire Hall of Famer. Eric Staal, who played on the 2023 Cup team, is a borderline HOF candidate, as are Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Sam Bennett. Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen were key players in helping the Panthers during this three-year run.
The Lightning’s bottom six had excellent role players, such as Blake Coleman, Pat Maroon, Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Johnson, and Anthony Cirelli.
The Panthers’ bottom six had Brad Marchand on the third line this season. When you have a Hall of Famer playing on your third line, that shows how much depth you have on the team.
Lightning advantage: Top six forwards
Panthers advantage: Bottom-six forwards.
On defense, the Lightning had Victor Hedman, who anchors the blue line and won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2020. Ryan McDonagh, another excellent defenseman, is a borderline HOF candidate. Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Mikhail Sergachev were also quality blue liners for the Bolts.
This season, the Panthers acquired defenseman Seth Jones right before the trade deadline and saw significant improvement from Niko Mikkola on the blue line. Aaron Ekblad, Dimitry Kulikov, and Gustav Forsling round out this Panthers defensive unit.
The edge defensively goes to the Lightning.
The Panthers have the uncanny ability to play on the edge. Their physicality, ability to get under the opponents’ skin, and teamwork give them the edge in a category we call the intangibles.
The Lightning had Pat Maroon, Barclay Goodrow, and Blake Coleman to add grit and nastiness, but felt short of what Florida has been able to do with their physical play and overall domination.
Many folks discredit the Lightning’s two Stanley Cups, which are referred to as “The COVID Cups,” because they assume they were easier to win.
Yes, the seasons were shorter, but there was also less time between seasons for rest and recuperation from the grind of a compressed schedule.
The playoff wins came when the games were the most mentally challenging. The players were away from their families, played in front of no fans, and were locked in a hotel bubble for months. Winning those two cups took a lot of grit, determination, and mental toughness.
If you’re a Lightning fan, you will never give the Panthers credit and appreciate their current run.
Likewise, if you’re a Panthers fan, you’re thinking that no way Tampa’s three Stanley Cup teams can compare to this current run by the Panthers.
No matter what team or side you are on, can we take a moment to appreciate the greatness of these two teams? The likes of which we may never see again.
The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports. Every team that wins the cup deserves respect from both teams’ fans.
So, whose run was better, the Lightning run from 2020-2022, or the Panthers run from 2023-2025?
That is a question that the fans can argue for years to come and try to convince the opposing side that their team has had the best three-year run.
The Lightning won their Cup playing a different style of hockey than the Panthers. Both teams deserve our respect and accolades. Three consecutive appearances in a Stanley Cup Final may not happen again in our lifetime.
If the Panthers can win a third straight Stanley Cup, you would have to consider them one of the great dynasties of all time.