Now it's time for the Panthers to see if they've caught up to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions and can end their quest for a three-peat.
The Panthers will play the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Second Round, the second consecutive season the Florida-based teams will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tampa Bay won the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round in six games last season on its way to a second consecutive Stanley Cup title.
"It's an exciting challenge for us," Brunette said after an optional practice Sunday. "They're what we want to be and we get an opportunity to play them again to get that chance. It's been a fun rivalry the last few years. They've beaten us in the playoffs, so they're up and we have an opportunity to even it."
Tampa Bay set up the playoff rematch with a 2-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round Saturday.
The previous night, Florida defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in overtime to win its first-round series in six games. It was the Panthers' first playoff series victory since 1996.
"They've been the best the last couple of years," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. "Obviously they're the team everyone wants to be, everyone wants to beat. You start with their goaltender [Andrei Vasilevskiy], another great series out of him [against Toronto]. First and foremost you try to make his life difficult. Their top-end guys are some of the best in the world. It's going to be a great challenge and we're up for it."
The Panthers (2-1-1) and Lightning (2-2-0) each won two games against each other during the regular season.
Florida won 4-1 at Tampa Bay on Oct. 19 and 9-3 at home Dec. 30; The Lightning won 3-2 in overtime at home Nov. 13 and 8-4 at FLA Live Arena on April 24, after the Panthers had clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The series gets underway at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS). Tampa Bay won the first two games at Florida in the playoffs last season.
"It's one thing where I think last year we started off a little slower in some games there," defenseman Brandon Montour said. "But if you're not ready for these games coming up here, there's really no reason to not be. I think everybody's kind of amped up to get started here."
Watching the Lightning win Game 7 at Toronto on Saturday reaffirmed for the Panthers the challenge that awaits.
"We played against each other so much and they helped make us a better team," Brunette said. "We kind of saw first-hand how hard it is and what it takes, and playing against them is always a challenge.
"I would say what sticks out, and especially we saw the third period last night, is they know how to win and they know what it takes. They can close games out. Nothing really fazes them there. They're as battle-tested as any team around. That's probably what stuck out, but it stuck out last year. So nothing's really changed. You know, they're Stanley Cup winners for a reason."
