TAMPA — For the third straight year, the Lightning’s season has ended with a first-round playoff exit. And for the second straight season, their cross-state rival has taken the only bragging rights that really matter in the Sunshine State series.

The Lightning’s margin for error razor thin after falling behind to the Panthers three games to one, they couldn’t think about the big picture. Their concentration had to be on the finest of details, shift by shift.

They knew all too well how quickly things can change, as two nights ago they were fewer than four minutes away from evening the series. But in an 11-second span, their late third-period lead turned into a one-goal deficit.

By the end of Game 5 Wednesday night, the Lightning had no comebacks left in them. After chasing most of the series, they had no answer late in a season-ending, 6-3 loss at Amalie Arena.

Though Tampa Bay had a much better team than a year ago, it ended the season with the same outcome, losing to the Panthers in five games in the first round.

There was much more open ice Wednesday than at any point in the series, reminiscent to some of the earlier playoff meetings between the teams. But the Lightning couldn’t make good on enough of their chances to extend the series.

Sam Bennett gave Florida a 4-3 lead after Tampa Bay’s power play — which was just 2-for-17 in the series — failed to convert yet again. Bennett jumped out of the box and wristed a shot from the right circle over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s blocker.

Nikita Kucherov, the Art Ross Trophy winner who didn’t have a goal in the series, committed a turnover in the final seconds of the power play, leading to a 2-on-1 breakaway. Anton Lundell pushed the puck through the neutral zone to a flying Bennett, who received the pass just over the blue line.

Florida’s Eetu Eetu Luostarinen scored with 6:58 left to seal the game and send the Lightning into the offseason. Sam Reinhart added an empty-net goal 2 ½ minutes later.

Jake Guentzel broke the Lightning power play out of an 0-for-15 drought midway through the second period with a rocket from the top of the left circle that found the top far corner of the net to tie the game at 3.

Guentzel‘s goal came after Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made two remarkable stops on a Lightning rush, stopping defenseman Erik Cernak and then Gage Goncalves’ putback.

Aleksander Barkov tipped Gustav Forsling’s shot from the left point over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove 52 seconds into the second period, putting Florida ahead 3-2.

The Lightning struck first, opening the scoring for the first time in the series, on Gage Goncalves’ first career playoff goal just 2:33 into the game. Goncalves took a puck that was sent toward the net by Victor Hedman and redirected by Luke Glendening and lifted it over Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

But Florida quickly turned the tables. A slashing penalty on Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg put the Panthers on the power play, and 12 seconds into the man advantage Carter Verhaeghe scored in front to tie the game at 5:21.

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Panthers center Anton Lundell then was left uncovered on the edge of the crease and redirected a centering pass from Brad Marchand to put Florida up 2-1 with 9:54 left in the first.

Nick Paul‘s second goal of the series tied the game at 2 just over two minutes later. Rookie Conor Geekie swept the puck to Paul after taking it from Lundell, and Paul wristed a shot from the slot into the back of the net.

The Lightning played an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup without left wing Brandon Hagel, who was still recovering from Aaron Ekblad’s elbow to the head in Game 4. Ekblad served the first of a two-game suspension for the hit.

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