After knocking off the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals respectively, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins are set to meet in the 2016 Eastern Conference Final, with the puck dropping in Pittsburgh later tonight.
It is the second year in a row that Tampa has made it to the Eastern Conference Final and their third appearance since 2011. Tampa was eliminated in seven games by the Boston Bruins in 2011 while advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 only to be bested in six games by the Chicago Blackhawks. For Pittsburgh, it is their fourth appearance in the conference final since 2008, most recently being swept by Boston in the 2013 Eastern Conference Final.
Both teams enter the series with Stanley Cup Final experience. Tampa’s roster remains largely unchanged from last season, once again led by power-players such as Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, and standout American goalie Ben Bishop. Veteran Steven Stamkos may also be available for the Lightning after missing the end of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs recovering from a blood clot surgery.
While Tampa has a player core that has been to the cup however, Pittsburgh has talent that knows how to win a cup. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Marc Andre Fleury were all part of the 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh squad, and are eager to return to the final for the first time since beating Detroit in seven games that season. Recently acquired Carl Hagelin also has Stanley Cup Final experience, having made it with the New York Rangers in the 2014 season.
It’s hard to find an immediate advantage in either squad in this series. Both squads have formidable fire-power waiting to light the red lamp, and both also have goaltenders that have played exceptionally well thus far in the playoffs. Bishop may have the experiential edge, but 21 year old rookie Matt Murray has looked just as sensational in net as Bishop, playing well enough to take down Alex Ovechkin and the NHL best Washington Capitals last round.
Tampa however might be the squad that has demonstrated more consistency on offense entering this series. All lines have been productive in the scoring department over the past two rounds, and none other than Nikita Kucherov leads all Tampa skaters with 9 goals in the playoffs over only a span of 10 games. Pittsburgh on the other hand has experienced a scoring surge from their secondary lines such as the Bonino/Kessel/Hagelin line, but stars such as Crosby and Malkin have looked average at best of late. Crosby has three goals thus far with a -1 point total, while Malkin also has three with no points.
So who wins this series? It’ll be tightly contested to say the least. Both squads have been dominant at home especially, each boasting a 5-1 record. Each have handled their competition with overall ease too, going up 3-1 on their opponents in every series. At the moment however, Tampa appears to be the deeper team, and with two more days of rest than Pittsburgh, things certainly seem to be playing to their advantage. If they can steal one in Pittsburgh and maintain their dominance on home ice, they will primed to take an early series lead. Early deficits are something that Pittsburgh has not had to deal with thus far in the playoffs, and it could be interesting to see how they handle such a situation if it presents itself . They say lightning never strikes twice, but I think this series may defy that phrase.
Tampa Bay in 6