The Tampa Bay Lightning have become the first team in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Finals after getting swept out of the first round of the postseason the year before. They're also becoming the first team to face four Original Six teams in the same postseason. But can they claim their second Stanley Cup in franchise history?
WHY THE LIGHTNING WON'T WIN THE STANLEY CUP
Even if the Lightning end up getting swept in this series, Ben Bishop is going to be legendary in Tampa for what he’s done in these playoffs. This is now the third man in NHL history to have two Game 7 shutouts in the same postseason, and he’s had a knack for coming up really big when his team's back has been against the wall.
But let's face the facts here. Bishop's 2.15 GAA is good, yet not stellar, and though he has faced a ton of shots in these playoffs, for the most part, his defense has been very good in front of him. There have been far too many mind-boggling games of late when Bishop has just stunk, and he can't afford to do that against Chicago.
Furthermore, we still have questions about the third and fourth lines for the Lightning. Those first two lines are fantastic, as the Triplets and the Steven Stamkos line are out of this world. But can the third and fourth lines avoid getting outplayed by Chicago?
That mission was accomplished against a very deep New York team in the Eastern Conference Finals at times, but there were just too many games where we were talking about the third liners for the Blueshirts outworking the Lightning.
WHY THE LIGHTNING WILL WIN THE STANLEY CUP
Home ice advantage is absolutely huge in this series. Sure, that didn't seem to be the case in the Eastern Conference Finals when the road team won the last five games of the series, but the Lightning have still won 37 times in 51 tries this season including the playoffs.
Team speed is the other major factor here for Tampa Bay. In fact, the argument could be made that this team right now looks a lot like Chicago did five years ago when it won its first Stanley Cup. Jonathan Toews and the gang were speedy youngsters at the time, and the Blackhawks used that speed and two amazing lines to romp to the title.
Now, the world is getting the chance to find out just how good Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson are together, while Alex Killorn and Ryan Callahan are proving to be excellent building blocks around Steven Stamkos. These two lines might be the two best in hockey at the moment, and that's saying a whole heck of a lot.
However, even on defense, the Lightning have a ton of speed. It isn't often that they get caught out of position on the counterattack, and that's a huge part of Chicago's offensive game. The sloppy Ducks turned the puck over too often in the neutral zone or in their own zone, and that gave them tremendous problems. If Tampa Bay doesn't make those same mistakes, it could be a huge key to winning the Cup.
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