Deja-vu experience gives Lightning unique perspective
It would make sense if any Tampa or Montreal players are experiencing a sense of deja-vu. After all, the first two games of their second-round playoff series bears a similarity to the first-round of last year's playoffs, when Tampa lost the first two games of the series at home and had to go on the road in the hopes of salvaging its series.
Except this year, Tampa was the road team in the first two games. It was Montreal who lost the first two games, and it is Tampa who returns home for Games 3 and 4 hoping to end Montreal's season with a four-game sweep.
According to The Tampa Tribune, the Bolts have a great perspective on the series due to their opposite experience last year.
"We remember back to a year ago when we were in this same exact situation and the way we felt in this room and the way we went into Montreal," Tampa's Ryan Callahan told The Tampa Tribune. "So that’s what we expect from them and we are going to be prepared for it. We remember back to a year ago when we were in this same exact situation and the way we felt in this room and the way we went into Montreal.
"So that’s what we expect from them and we are going to be prepared for it. You get away from your home building and you just want to go (on the road) and win one game. So, that’s what we have to expect is a desperate team and their best game."
The Lightning also told The Tampa Tribune that they won't be taking home ice for granted. Tampa was a dominant team at home in the regular season, but that trend did not continue in the first round against Detroit, as Tampa lost two of its four home games.
"If you look at the playoffs so far, home ice has not been everything that it’s made up to be," goalie Ben Bishop told The Tampa Tribune. “Losing a couple of games in the first round on home ice, we know it’s not guaranteed."
(h/t The Tampa Tribune)
Photo by AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
