Lightning Come Up Short Again

The Tampa Bay Lightning were so close yet again but come up short for the second consecutive season. Pittsburgh was just too strong and fast and at times really dominated the series as the Lightning just couldn't make the proper adjustments without goalie Ben Bishop. Even though backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy played outstanding throughout the series, the Lightning missed Bishop's ability to stop the other teams forcheck by being able to make outlet passes to the d-men or forwards to start the rush.

This team show signs of being able to outplay Pittsburgh but the inconsistencies that plagued this team all year came back to bite them in the ass, and unfortunately cost them the chance to play in the stanley cup finals again. The Lightning struggle to create any kind of rhythm offensively during game 6 or game 7 which ultimately cost them the series. Tip your hat to the Penguins, they played aggressive and were more smart with the puck and overall were just better than Tampa. Our key players were non-existent in the last two games as well, especially Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. In the playoffs your best players have to be the best players on the ice, and unfortunately for the Lightning that wasn't always the case.

With that being said, it is amazing that this team made it to game 7 of the eastern conference finals without their two best players in Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop. Hopefully Yzerman can find a way to keep the core players on this team intact for next season as they will have another great chance to win the cup in 2017. The team has probably found three young stars in forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nikita Kucherov, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy whom all have very bright futures ahead in this league. This team just needs to stay healthy come playoff time as it has the pieces to win the cup next season.

Lightning Are Back in the Eastern Conference Finals

The Lightning defeated the Islanders 4-0, winning the series 4-1 and are advancing to the eastern conference finals for the second straight season. This series got off to a shaky start for the Bolts as they came out flat in game 1 losing 5-3, but after that they were able to come up big in key situations leading them to 4 straight wins. Goalie Ben Bishop was outstanding again and pretty much won games 3 and 4 by himself along with some timely goals in overtime that help the Lightning take control of the series. Bishop was great again yesterday collecting his 5th postseason shutout, 4 of them have come in the clinching game.

This Lightning team will go as far as Bishop can take them, and right now it looks like he wants the stanley cup. He just makes everything look so easy and plays with great poise and confidence which makes him such a great goalie. Now it wasn't all Bishop as Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov were terrific as well and came up with huge goals during big moments of the games. This team just has everything flowing their way, and this is without one of their top D-man, and top goal scorer which is really impressive. The coaching staff led by Jon Cooper has done an outstanding job, and their job doesn't get any easier with the next opponent likely to be either the Penguins or Capitals. The good news is that Anton Stralman and JT Brown could be ready for the upcoming series which will only make our defense that much better along with more speed on the ice in Brown.

Back to yesterday's win, the team was flat out dominant and it was funny to watch the Islanders bench as they knew they couldn't do anything to stop it. Lightning were just the better team and it showed in this series, and at times the Lightning just looked unstoppable. Now the Lightning get the chance to rest and can prepare for the next opponent whom will be a much tougher test.

Lightning Win Game 5 Advancing to 2nd Round

With goalie Ben Bishop leading the way, the Lightning found a way to win knocking out the Red Wings in 5 games.  Behind a 34 save shutout by Bishop and a clutch goal by Alex Killorn with less than 2 minutes left, the Lightning won 1-0, and are now moving on to the second round to face either the Panthers or Islanders. The Lightning were not at their best last night as it was struggle for them to get anything going offensively, but it didn't matter as Bishop was outstanding. Bishop basically said "I got this guys, just get me one goal", and that's what happen.

It seemed like every Red Wings shot was coming on a breakaway, and Bishop stop every one of them determined to end this series in 5 games. Bishop collected his 4th career shutout in the playoffs as three of them have came on series clinching wins. Bishop has been the best goalie in the league this year, and will need to continue to do so if the Lightning want to get far in the playoffs again. Bishop's size and athleticism is just so rare in a goalie, that at times he is just a brick wall on the ice. He just does a great job of being patient and letting the shots come to him, and overall is just a very smart player.

"You look for a goalie to keep you in it, and in a lot of sense he won us that game," Killorn said. "Second period, (three) breakaways and (if) they score on one, it's a completely different game."

Now with some time to rest before the next series, hopefully the team can fine tune some things especially on defensive zone coverage and their special teams. The next round will be challenging again, but hopefully the team can get healthier and with Bishop playing like he is, the Lightning have a chance against anyone.

.@Benbishop30 has been a brick wall tonight. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/qPQKSJx4le

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 22, 2016

Bolts Strike Late to Win Game 4

It wasn't pretty last night, but the Lightning managed to find a way, winning 3 to 2 over the Red Wings taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Lightning played their game last night using their speed and playing more of a north and south game which is key for them to have success. They came out strong in the first period, playing physical and putting constant pressure on the Red Wings D-men. The Bolts forwards played with a shoot first mentality totaling 14 shots on goal in the first period which was closed to what they had all for game 3 with 16 shots.

However, the big story of the game was the Lightning special teams as their powerplay accounted for all three goals. They were crisp with their puck movement and were assertive with their shots on goal as it look like they had finally figured out what to do with the man advantage. Jonathan Drouin and Nikita Kucherov were the best players on the ice last night and good things happen when they had the puck on their sticks. Kucherov score 2 goals and assist while Drouin had three assists including the game winner to Ondrej Palat which was a great play.

Palat goal pic.twitter.com/J9eboShgXR

— Stephanie (@myregularface) April 20, 2016

The combination of Kucherov and Drouin on the powerplay is tough to stop because both guys know what to do with the puck, and both are looking to make plays instead of waiting for something to happen. Only 21, Drouin is showing his potential in this series as he has been a force with the puck on his stick and it looks like he is going to be a big contributor going forward.

Ben Bishop was outstanding again and allowed the team to have a chance to win in the third period. He made big saves in critical moments and has been consistent in the series so far. Even after blowing a 2-0 lead, the team didn't panicked and just continued to play their game and came up with big plays at the right time. Huge win for the team and now have a great opportunity to end the series with game 5 back in Tampa on Thursday night.