Tampa Bay Lightning Will Face Montreal Canadiens In Round 2

The Tampa Bay Lightning advance to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to face the Montreal Canadiens.

The Tampa Bay Lightning has overcome the first hurdle in their quest for greatness this season as they defeat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now that the Lightning has overcome the adversity and obstacles that came with the long and arduous journey known as the First Round series against the Red Wings, they must prepare themselves to come face-to-face with an all-too-familiar enemy; the Montreal Canadiens.

Unless you were living underneath a rather large rock which was located in the deepest, darkest reaches of a cave on an island in the middle of nowhere with a name no one can possibly pronounce, you are painfully aware of what happened between these two teams in the post season last year.

The good news for the Tampa Bay Lightning is that there have been quite a few changes between now and then that have greatly benefitted the Boys in Blue.

The first of those changes is that we have a healthy Ben Bishop at our disposal. While the success or failure of a team never lies in the hands of one particular player, there is no denying that the player between the pipes is the last line of defense between the opposition’s shot and the back of the net.

There are no words that could possibly accurately describe the importance of solid netminding in the post season. Unfortunately, with Bishop injured heading into the post season last year, this is something we simply didn’t have. Even if something, hockey gods forbid, should happen to Bishop over the course of the post season, we have confidence that Andrei Vasilevskiy could step in and get the job done.

Also, we have a little thing known as the Triplet Line. Whether you look at their numbers from the regular season or those they have acquired during the post season, there is no denying that this is one of the most dangerous lines in the league right now.

Tyler Johnson came into tonight’s encounter with the Red Wings leading the way for the Tampa Bay Lightning in scoring. He had already registered 6 goals and an assist for a total of 7 points. Right behind Johnson on that list is his linemate Nikita Kucherov, who has already registered 4 assists.

Not to be left out is Johnson’s partner-in-crime on and off the ice, Ondrej Palat, who had already scored a goal and two assists in the post season. Out of the 37 points the Lightning had heading into tonight, the Triplets account for 14 of those points. We don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty hefty load.

Another thing to take into consideration is the manner in which the Lightning completed the series sweep against the Canadiens for the first time in franchise history this season. Considering that for the most part this season Carey Price has been regarded as the goaltender to beat in the NHL, this is quite the accomplishment.

Unfortunately, once the final buzzer sounds on the regular season, everything you accomplished up to that point goes out the window and you are forced to start all over again. This means that the slate has been washed clean and the Lightning will have to prove themselves once again.

After being knocked out of the post season with such haste last season, the Lightning truly have something to prove in this series. The Bolts got off to a good start when it was the aforementioned series sweep against the Montreal Canadiens that earned the Lightning their playoff berth this season to begin with.

Hopefully, they can take the dangerous scoring power that they had throughout the regular season and combine that with the will to win they have maintained throughout the First Round, and give the fans here in the Bolts Nation one heck of a show in the Second Round.

The party gets started on Friday night at the Bell Centre followed by Game 2 on Sunday night, then the series comes home to the Amalie Arena on Wednesday night for Game 3. This series is not going to be a walk in the park for the Lightning, so they will need their Thunder now more than ever.

The only question remaining is are you ready to Be The Thunder for another round?

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Shutout Detroit in Game 7

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