3 least impressive Tampa Bay Lightning players from Game 4 loss to Florida Panthers feat. Andrei Vasilevskiy

The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves on the verge of elimination as the Florida Panthers pulled out a 4-2 win in Game 4 of their first-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Panthers scored twice, 11 seconds apart, in the third period to transform a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead at the Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night.

Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak scored roughly 10 seconds apart in the second period to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 lead. Anton Lundell, Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones, and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Florida Panthers.

So, let’s take a look at the three least impressive Tampa Bay Lightning players from their 4-2 Game 4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

3 least impressive Tampa Bay Lightning players from Game 4 loss to Florida Panthers

#3 Victor Hedman

The Tampa Bay Lightning captain did not have a standout night. He finished the game a minus-2 in over 24 minutes of ice time across 31 shifts. In particular, his role in Verhaeghe’s empty-netter underscored Hedman’s lack of effectiveness on Monday night.

Here’s a look at the goal:

As the puck came around the boards, Hedman attempted to keep it in the Florida zone. He was easily beaten to it, allowing Verhaeghe to notch his first goal of the postseason.

While Hedman got four shots on goal, he wasn’t the dominant factor that Tampa Bay hoped he would be.

#2 Nikita Kucherov

The Florida Panthers shut down Nikita Kucherov in Game 4 - Source: Imagn

Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov had a quiet night. The Tampa Bay Lightning sniper played 25:32 in the game over 28 shifts but managed just one shot on goal. He did not generate the high-danger chances he typically produces, leading to the Bolts’ lackluster offensive performance.

Kucherov has four assists in four games during the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, but went silent in Game 4 when the Lightning desperately needed a win to avoid falling into a 3-1 series hole.

#1 Andrei Vasilevskiy

Andrei Vasilevskiy had a subpar performance on Monday night. He allowed three goals on 22 shots, with the two goals in the third period being ones the former Vezina Trophy winner would like to have back.

Here’s a look at the game-tying goal:

While Vasilevskiy can’t be blamed for the defensive breakdown by the Lightning, he failed to anticipate Aaron Ekblad coming off the blue line to pick up the loose puck.

Here’s the go-ahead goal:

The shot from Seth Jones was apparently deflected by a Tampa Bay player, trickling through Vasilevskiy. That’s one goal the Bolts’ netminder would love to get back as he should have made the save despite the puck floating like a knuckleball.

All told, the Lightning now find themselves down 3-1 in the series, with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.