Friday, 3 a.m.

From here, you can see the darkness.

From here, you can hear the silence of an empty arena. You can imagine the fans who may not have much left to cheer about. You can see the rocks below.

From here, the Tampa Bay Lightning can see the off-season.

The Bolts are down to their last breath after Thursday night’s 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. Playing at Amalie

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Arena didn’t make a difference — once again, the Panthers were quicker, crisper in their third straight victory.

This time, the Bolts were able to get a lead. They went ahead 2-1 early in the second period on goals by Steven Stamkos and Tyler Motte. But the Panthers regained the lead by the end of the period, then closed the Lightning out in the third.

Nicholas Paul also scored a goal for the Bolts.

“It was disappointing that second period down a goal,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I felt we deserved a better fate. Don’t get me wrong — two good players shooting pucks, but one of them was from 60-something feet, the other was through a screen.”

All of it puts the Lightning in a situation where they have to win the next game…and the next…and the one after that … and the next.

The Bolts play the Panthers Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. at Amalie Arena.

Thursday, 4 a.m.

The last thing you might expect from the Tampa Bay Rays is the guy from down under to go up and over.

Curtis Mead, hardly a fence-buster, lifted the Rays to a 7-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. It was Mead’s first home run of the season, and the second of his career. Mead is hitting .231 on the season.

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The Rays salvaged one win in the three-game series against the Tigers, but it didn’t come without a struggle.

Tampa Bay had built a 4-1 lead, but fell behind 5-4 with the Tigers’ two-run sixth.

The Rays came back with a strong day from the bullpen. Jason Adam went two hitless innings, and Garrett Cleavinger picked up his second save. 

The Rays had 11 hits, including two each from Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Ben Rortvedt.

The Rays had lost four of their previous five games. They are now 13-13 on the season.

The Rays are off today, then play at the Chicago White Sox on Friday night at 7:40 p.m.

Wednesday, 4 a.m.

The moments when it got away are with them still. Carter Verehaeghe’s winning goal. The save by Sergie Bobrovskiy’s elbow. The four-minute power play where they didn’t score.

They might as well look at those moments.

It beats looking at their situation.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning dropped its second 3-2 game (this one in overtime) to the Florida Panthers Tuesday night. The Bolts fell behind, then came back, then lost in overtime. It was the Panthers’ 11th straight overtime win; the Bolts are 1-10 in their last 11 overtimes.

This one felt closer than the Bolts’ opening 3-2 loss to Florida. After a flat first period when Tampa Bay fell behind 2-0 on goals by Sam Bennett and  Vladimir Tarasenko.

The Bolts tied the game on goals by Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos to force overtime. But one key save by Panthers’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky came in the second period when he dove and blocked a shot by the Lightning’s Matt Dumba with his elbow.

“You’re looking at two of the best,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Sometimes, you have sit here and marvel at some the saves that were made.”

Former Lightning player Verhaeghe scored the winning goal three minutes into overtime.

After tw games, NHL leading scoring Nikita Kucherov has just one point and only three shots.

“This group knows how to get it done,” Cooper said. “It was so damn close to getting done.”

The teams play again Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Amalie Arena.