Tampa Bay Lightning show themselves as Stanley Cup favorites
By Dominick Falco
How impressive have the Tampa Bay Lightning been over the past four games? This team has gone from being down three games to two against Detroit to being just four wins away from playing for the Stanley Cup. There is something extremely special about this team. Actually, there are actually four things that make the Tampa Bay Lightning special.
The Triplets are magical
Arguably the best line in the NHL all season long has been even better in the playoffs. The spectacular line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov have continue their dominance in the playoffs. Over 13 games, the line mates have combined to score 17 goals. As the main source of offense, they have carried the team, even when nobody else is producing.
The story on this line is incredible.
All three came from the same 2011 draft class, albeit Johnson was not drafted. All three played together in the AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. Then thrown together on a line after some toying around by head coach Jon Cooper, and magic happened. The Tampa Bay Lightning would not be where they are right now without these three boys playing the way they do.
Everything is there: the production, the confidence, and the chemistry. Tampa could ride this line to a Stanley Cup
The Captain leading the way
Another thing that makes this team so special is the rejuvenation of Steven Stamkos. The NHL All-Star was able to get his first goal of the playoffs in game two and opened the flood gates as continued to pour in two more goals. The team has already been able to score plenty without Stamkos’ production, but now that finally broke through, things could get scary for opponents.
Not only has he been scoring, riding a five-game point streak, but he has been playing tough on defense as well. Displaying leadership and toughness in game six, Stamkos laid out to make two crucial blocks to potentially save goals.
His speed really killed Montreal and it is something he will need to use against New York, as they have a lot of speed themselves.
Ben Bishop is the best goalie remaining
The biggest reason why Tampa Bay has been so good this postseason is goaltender Ben Bishop. The former Vezina Trophy finalist has been standout, giving up only 1.81 goals per game. If you look back at the past five Stanley Cup champions, three of those had goalies who averaged less than two goals allowed per game.
Bishop was by far the best goalie in the series against Montreal. Which is extremely impressive seeing that Carey Price will likely win the price trophy.
To be the best, you have to beat the best. He beat the best in Price, therefore, Bishop has been declared the best goalie in the playoffs.
Jon Cooper is the coach of the playoffs
In sports, everything always goes back to the coach. When things go right, the coach is praised. When things go wrong, the coach is the first one out the door. Sometimes, the coach is not the main reason for a team’s success. However, for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jon Cooper is a huge reason why they are so close to the Stanley Cup.
Cooper has a different way of coaching, which was a nice refreshment after the firing of Guy Boucher in 2013. Something extremely special about Cooper that not many teams have is the chemistry and camaraderie between him and his players.
When named the interim head coach, Cooper came up to the NHL from the AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. Cooper was the head of the Crunch from 2010-2013, winning a Calder Cup in 2012.
When he was promoted to the NHL, many of his players came with him. Andrej Sustr, Cedric Paquette, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, along with the Triplets.
The chemistry is there and Cooper is calm and cool guy but can get fiery when he needs to. He is a great Xs and Os guy and gets the most out of his team.
It is a huge disappointment that Jon Cooper was not nominated for the Jack Adams Award in 2014-2015 but he would be quite content with a Stanley Cup.
The road ahead
The Tampa Bay Lightning are riding the high of their dramatic series win over the Montreal Canadiens into the Eastern Conference Final. Their confidence is at an all-time high and so is their play. When looking at their road going forward, there are reasons to see the Tampa Bay Lightning as Stanley Cup favorites.
The Lightning are set to face the New York Rangers in the next series. There is a lot at stake here, but Tampa Bay is ready for it.
Although the Rangers are a talented team, winning the President’s trophy, history does say a lot in sports. Tampa Bay has New York’s number. They match up very well. Both have tremendous speed, star power, good defense, stellar goaltending, and great coaching.
The Lightning have an advantage over the Rangers when looking at the past two seasons. Tampa Bay is 5-1 against the blue shirts since beginning of 2013. In those games, Tampa has scored over four goals per game, while allowing less than two per game. Also pushing the scales in Tampa’s favor is the fact that Ben Bishop has not lost a game against the Rangers, winning all eight appearances against them and dominating every time out.
If history repeats itself and Tampa Bay moves onto their second Stanley Cup final in franchise history, they will have a great chance to bring home the Cup.
They will play the winner of the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Lightning had success against both clubs during the regular season.
Against Anaheim, Tampa is 2-0 while scoring four goals per game and giving up only two, including a convincing 4-1 win at the Honda Center.
Against Chicago, they are 1-0-1, including a 4-0 shutout win at home in February.
Everything points in the right direction for Tampa Bay. The Lightning are a special team. They have the coaching, the goaltending, the star leadership and the depth to be a legitimate threat for the Stanley Cup.
If you sat there and said in 2013 that the Tampa Bay Lightning were going to win the Stanley Cup in two years, you would have had a rock thrown at your head for being so stupid. Now, you would look like one smart cookie.
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