The Lightning eliminated the Panthers in four games, advancing to the conference final

Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat, in an empty net, blacked out the scoresheet for Lightning.

Tampa Bay, a two -time defending Stanley Cup champion, has joined the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens in select franchise clubs that have won at least 10 consecutive playoff series. It is trying to be the first franchise to win the Stanley Cup three consecutive years in 40 years, and will face in the Eastern Finals the winning team rivalry between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers.

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy held up all 49 shots he faced, earning his first shutout in the playoffs.

Vasilevskiy, who entered the game on Monday night having received just one goal in each of his past four outings, has allowed just one goal in his last seven starts in a game that has sealed a series.

His opponent, Sergei Bobrovsky, made 23 saves for the Panthers, the NHL’s best team in the regular season.

Jon Cooper’s staff worked hard before the mark was finally opened.

Alex Killorn, in the middle of the second period, then Nikita Kucherov, just 48 seconds later, saw their respective nets not allowed by the referees after the video replay.

Finally it was Maroon who put Lightning on the board, 6:16 into the third period. That was his second goal in the playoffs, and veteran Zack Bogosian had an assist in a row.

As the final minutes of the game passed, the Panthers enjoyed a power play courtesy of Palat. The latter received a penalty for delaying the game by sending a puck to the stands, while trying to clear his territory.

Head coach Andrew Brunette’s staff knocked on Vasilevskiy’s door several times, but they were unable to get past it.

Then, Cirelli jumped on a loose puck and cleared his territory. Palat, fresh from the dungeon, collected the rubber in Panthers territory before it was shot into an empty net, with 23 seconds left in the game.

The Panthers are officially on vacation. So they became the first Presidents’ Trophy winners to be swept away by the defending Stanley Cup champions in the playoffs since the Edmonton Oilers swept the Calgary Flames to win the NHL title in 1988.