TAMPA, Fla. — The 82-game regular season is over. For a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning that has made the postseason for six straight seasons, now is when the real season begins.
However, this Lightning team has not been as dominant as the ones in the past. Tampa Bay’s 98 points are sixth best in a stacked Eastern Conference.
Other teams have surpassed the Bolts this season as Stanley Cup favorites.
“We haven’t given a s*** about that in the last three years, so whatever people want to say about our group, we have to go out and perform and do it ourselves,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “We are still the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions. We have to go out and prove why we’ve had a lot of success.”
No team has seen more playoff success over the past three seasons than Tampa Bay. The Lightning are looking to make their fourth straight Stanley Cup Final appearance. This is a team that saves their best hockey for when it matters the most.
“It’s paramount,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “The game is played with emotion."
His group has shown over the years that they can get to a level you need to be to win.
“It’s not quite that easy in terms of ‘it’s playoff time’ and we get to a certain level,” Stamkos added. “We need to work to get there and improve in certain areas. Certainly the stakes have risen, and if that’s what it takes to get that juice out of this group, then maybe it is.”
Forward Tanner Jeannot suffered a brutal leg injury against the Islanders on April 6. Some good news on Monday morning, Jeannot returned to the ice with his teammates.
“He’s definitely not going in Game 1,” Cooper said. “What went from week to week it trimmed down to day to day.”
The Lightning’s first-round series begins Tuesday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
