Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) chat while in the tunnel just prior to taking on the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the first round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Tampa. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

The Stanley Cup playoffs will air across ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV. You can stream the TNT/TBS/truTV games on Max (with a premium subscription) and watch all the games with the help of a live TV streaming service like DirecTV, Fubo or Sling.

But this time there's a twist. In 2021 and 2022, the Lightning were the defending Stanley Cup champion; this time the Panthers are. Each time the two teams have faced each other, the winner of the series has gone on to reach the Stanley Cup Final.