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The Tampa Bay Lightning took a step back in ClutchPoints’ most recent power rankings. But the Atlantic Division leaders are still in the thick of the playoff race. That made Monday night’s game against the Florida Panthers a rather important one before the calendar flips to 2026. Unfortunately, Jon Cooper could not coach his team to a victory.

Sam Reinhart scored twice on Monday night, while goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves. These performances helped propel the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers to a 5-2 victory over their intrastate rival on Monday night. This loss marked Tampa’s sixth defeat over its last eight games.

After the game, Cooper had a rather interesting view on this contest. He pointed out how both teams had played a lot of hockey heading into this matchup. Fatigue was evident on both sides, but only one was able to battle through it.

“You’ve got one team in Florida on their fourth game of a road trip in a couple of different time zones, so they’re tired,” Cooper said, via NHL.com. “You’ve got us, basically … this is our fifth game in five different cities. I thought they looked like two tired hockey teams. They got the lead and hung on to it. With tired hockey teams mistakes are made. They capitalized on theirs and we didn’t.”

Tampa dropped to 18-12-3 with this defeat to the Panthers. They remain first in the Atlantic Division. However, their lead is not secure in any way, shape, or form. In fact, they are only ahead of the second-place Detroit Red Wings by virtue of a tiebreaker. Furthermore, they are only three points clear of Florida, which is fifth in the Atlantic.

The Lightning need to get their act together, and quickly. If they don’t, they could lose their slim grip on the division lead. Tampa hits the ice once again on Thursday night when they take on the Los Angeles Kings.

Related: ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings, Week 11: Are the Wild contenders with Quinn Hughes?