Tampa Bay Lightning

John Romano | Tampa Bay's smothering defense has already gotten it past some of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL.

The last time a Stanley Cup finalist finished the postseason with a scoring average that high was Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers in 1985. More than anything else, that explains Cooper’s mindset in the postseason. The Lightning eliminated his Maple Leafs in the first round. During these Stanley Cup playoffs, the Lightning have a .500 winning percentage (4-4) in games when they have scored two goals or less. It’s just going out and playing as hard as you can for the next guy that sits beside you in that locker room. We trust every guy that goes over the boards to do his job,” captain Steven Stamkos said. The Lightning still had dynamic scorers on offense. Do you want to win the game 8-0? We don’t have to win by six goals, or whatever it may be. Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau anchored the highest-scoring team the NHL had seen in 25 years. Or do you want to win 2-1? New York’s Artemi Panarin was a passing savant with 74 assists in 75 games.

But of those, only Dryden was a Finals mainstay at such a young age as Vasilevskiy is. And in nearly half of the Lightning's postseason games this season — ...

That was a game the Lightning appeared to have business winning. Like the Avs, the Lightning find postseason heroes throughout the roster. Or will this be the Avs’ culmination, winning a Cup in their first Final opportunity? The Canadiens had the worst regular-season record last year of any postseason qualifier, and the Lightning dispatched them in five games. Age and the salary cap are catching up to much of the Lightning roster. The Lightning found their goalie. The Bolts expect Point back at some juncture in the Final. But as with Kadri, the question is when. And in nearly half of the Lightning’s postseason games this season — eight of 17 — he’s allowed one or zero goals. He’s one of eight goaltenders to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) and Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) in his career. And now they sit in their third straight Stanley Cup Final, becoming the first team to make three consecutive finals since the 1983-85 Edmonton Oilers. Only in the 2018-19 postseason did they lay an egg, and it was as embarrassing a playoff faceplant as has ever been seen in professional sports. Tampa Bay lost that series four games to two, but that campaign effectively launched the Lightning into the league’s top tier.

Colorado Avalanche are ready to play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday.

“They’re a real deep team. “I mean they’re back where they are for a reason.”

To get there a second time, the next year, was a dream too. There was no way we were going back. To go a third time is unbelievable," Lightning coach Jon Cooper ...

"We're going to the finals again. We have a chance to do something really special." It's typically the team that improves the most throughout the run that ends up winning." "There's a reason why there's two teams left, and it's because they're the two best teams in the league. It just needs to get done," Stamkos said. "As the [conference finals] progressed, we got better and better," Killorn said. Cooper said injured star Brayden Point, who hasn't played since Game 7 against the Maple Leafs, might not play in Game 1 but is "extremely probable" to appear in the series. We don't know what's going to happen here in the next 10 to 14 days. "As you progress through the playoffs, each round gets tougher and each opponent gets tougher," he said. But we know we're going to give it our all. To get there a second time, the next year, was a dream too. "To get there the first time was a dream come true.

They are back in the Final for the third straight season. That's pretty good.

We’re unlikely to see anything like this again. Celebrate this win, folks. Game Seven* - at Colorado Avalanche Tuesday June 28th 8:00 PM EST Game Four - vs Colorado Avalanche Wednesday June 22nd 8:00 PM EST They are dealing with injuries so the rest is good for them, but as we saw with the Lightning in the early games of their last series, a little rust can affect a team that relies on skill. With their victory over the New York Rangers in Game Six the Tampa Bay Lightning are advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season.

No team has been to three Stanley Cup Finals in a row since the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-1980s, and the Islanders were the last team to win three ...

The Rangers will have all summer to heal their injuries and think about how they blew a two-game lead against the defending Stanley Cup champions. To get there a second time the next year was like a dream, like there’s no way we’re going back. They finished off the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals nearly a week ago. Stamkos, coming out of the penalty box, raced toward the net, took a pass from Kucherov and shot the puck. Then the Rangers broadsided them in the first two games of the series in New York. The young Rangers, in the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, failed to score at even strength in the last four games of the series. Tampa blocked all of the Rangers’ shots. Tampa Bay overcame a two-game deficit and won the last four games of the series, outscoring the Rangers, 12-5. But the Lightning showed why and how they keep winning championships. Now 32, the center from suburban Toronto has played his entire 14-year career in Tampa and helped build an also-ran into a perennial contender. They play in Tampa, a Florida tourist destination where a star named Tom Brady, quarterback for the Buccaneers, grabs most of the sporting headlines. The Tampa Bay Lightning, though, are close to accomplishing something even more difficult: Winning three Stanley Cups in a row.

Tampa Bay is a step closer to another title, as Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche is on tap Wednesday night. Here's what we know after the first 12 ...

"We're going to the finals again. It's pretty cool to play with a player that's going to go down as one of the best that's ever played the game," Killorn said. As do the Lightning. They can run and gun. The Avalanche are cooking with a recipe the Lightning created in their past two championship seasons. We don't know what's going to happen here in the next 10-14 days. In fact, they did both in the same series against the Edmonton Oilers. As Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon said, the Avalanche can play with offensive flourish at home and then play "boring and gross" hockey on the road to slow teams down. In Game 6, his pass to Stamkos as the captain streaked to the net set up the game-winning and series-clinching goal. He's a pace-setter for the Lightning. When he's confident and rolling offensively, they take notice. In Vasilevskiy, the Avalanche face one of the greatest postseason goalies in NHL history. There's a reason why there's two teams left, and it's because they're the two best teams. "We're looking for guys that have pride and that have ambition. To get there a second time, the next year, was a dream too.

Sarasota Police are joining in the celebration after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Eastern Conference Final.

Let’s bring the #StanleyCup home AGAIN! ⚡️⚡️⚡️ #GoBolts #Bolts #StanleyCupFinal #ChampaBay” reads the post. “Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Lightning on their electrifying performance in the #EasternConferenceFinal. Way to represent the Tampa Bay area on your amazing run to the championship! SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Sarasota Police are joining in the celebration after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Eastern Conference Final.

This is the third straight time the Lightning are in the Stanley Cup Final after winning in 2021. Tampa Bay ran through the East playoffs, defeating the Florida ...

The Lightning ended up facing the Montreal Canadiens in the Final due to the division being realigned due to the Pandemic. The Habs are now in the Atlantic Division with the Bolts. As a result, he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for NHL playoff MVP. Let’s go over who won the Cup in 2021.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday night to win the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. With the win, their third ...

They’re averaging over 4.5 goals per game and as Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said after beating the Rangers, “Colorado? Probably the best team in the league.” Then they swept their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, before going down 2-0 to the Rangers, and former UW defenseman K’Andre Miller, in the Eastern Conference Finals. Returning home for Game 3, Ondrej Palat scored with 42 seconds left to give Tampa their first win of the series and that kick-started the team to rattle off four straight and reach the Stanley Cup. They were down 3-2 in their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs before winning Games 6 (in overtime) and 7. The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday night to win the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. The stout defenseman is second on the team in minutes played behind Victor Hedman, averaging 22:15 of ice time per game. While I’m sure it’s a bummer for Elliott not to play...Vasilevskiy between the pipes gives Tampa the best chance of winning so one would assume he’s ok with it.

Ahead of the series vs. the Colorado Avalanche, it's time to release our Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup Final predictions.

Both played pivotal roles in each of the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup over the past two seasons. When Point does eventually return to the ice, we’re expecting him to play with a chip on his shoulder and look to make up for lost time. With all that in mind, here are our bold Lightning predictions for the Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche. He’ll be hoping to have a similar impact against the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, and the rest of the Avs’ elite attack. A large part of their success in the defensive third was the play of Anthony Cirelli, who has been essential as a defensive-minded forward, helping mitigate the impact of some star offensive players. While the Avalanche have largely been considered title favorites throughout their dominant postseason run, the Lightning will have Stanley Cup Final experience most other teams would only dream of boasting.

The Lightning are back, looking for the NHL's first three-peat in almost 40 years, and the Colorado core led by Nathan MacKinnon is finally playing for the ...

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final is a virtual toss-up, according to 16 NHL.com writers and editors.

WHY: Avalanche were my preseason pick to win the Stanley Cup and I haven't seen anything in their play the first three rounds that would change my mind. WHY: The Avalanche will have a long layoff after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final. What they don't have is much Cup Final experience, with just two players on the roster having won it before (forwards Darren Helm, 2008 with Detroit Red Wings and Andrei Burakovsky, 2018 with Washington Capitals). The Lightning have 16 players who have won the Stanley Cup with them including 13 who have won it each of the past two seasons. Actually, I did in the Eastern Conference Final and got burned. Sure. Size doesn't affect them because they have it too. They have the second-best power play percentage (31.1) and are tied for eighth with the Toronto Maple Leafs in fewest penalties taken (43); playing seven fewer games than Toronto. Conference finals record: 2-0 Conference finals record: 2-0 If the Avalanche execute something close to their best game, the Cup is theirs to win. WHY: The defending champion Lightning are going to get their toughest test of the three straight Stanley Cup Finals they've contested. Conference finals record: 2-0 The rest that the Avalanche got will prove the difference between two extremely talented teams. Conference finals record: 2-0