The Tampa Bay Lightning charge into the Amalie Arena to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and captain Steven Stamkos is ready to do whatever it takes to win.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has worked incredibly hard all season long to find themselves in the position they currently find themselves in, and tonight when the puck drops at Amalie Arena that final stage of their journey will begin.
This is going to be a long and arduous journey against one of the best teams in the National Hockey League today, but anything worth winning takes hard work, dedication, and passion to achieve. Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is ready to step up to the plate and do “whatever it takes” to win.
The 2014-15 season is Steven Stamkos’ first full year as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but if you listen to the way he conducted himself yesterday during the Stanley Cup Finals Media Day you would think that he has been doing this his entire life.
The 25 year old Lightning captain was pretty clear that when it comes to the opportunity to raise the Stanley Cup high above his head and bring the greatest trophy in all of sports back to the Tampa Bay area he is willing to do whatever it takes.
"“I’m definitely ready to do whatever it takes to win. Whether I was the captain or not, I don’t think that changes the fact. I think it gets a little bit more attention because I am the captain, but I’ve played with some great leaders and seen some great leaders in this league and that’s what they’re willing to do.” Stamkos said."
As Stamkos continued, he spoke of some of the things that a good leader has to be willing to do in order to get the job done, while also praising the leadership group in place within the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"“They’re willing to block a shot and to take a hit, make a hit, whatever you have to do to give your bench a little life. We’ve got a pretty great leadership group that makes my job a lot easier, but this is the end all be all for a hockey player; to get a chance to be here in the finals and there’s sacrifices you have to make along the way. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes.”"
These words uttered by Steven Stamkos are exactly what we have been preaching about all season long. When it comes to winning games and continuing to win as you make your way to the top, you simply have to have the fire in your soul and the passion in your heart to lay it all on the line.
This is not going to be an easy task for the Tampa Bay Lightning by any means. As we said before, the Chicago Blackhawks are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. In the last five years they have not one, but two Stanley Cups under their belts.
The good news here is that not only do the Tampa Bay Lightning understand this, but they feel that while they may lack in experience in the Finals when compared to the Blackhawks, they have a similar skill set and have no problems competing on this level.
"“They’re a great team. They’re comfortable in these situations. I think that was really evident in their last series being able to come back against a team like Anaheim, but the skill set that they possess is right up there in the league and we feel we have that similar skill set. We feel that we can be competitive with any team in this league and like I said many times, we believe in ourselves, but we have to play the right way.”"
It has taken the Tampa Bay Lightning a little while to figure out exactly what that “right way” is and be able to implement that into their system, but they are right where they need to be and know in their hearts what needs to be done if they want to be successful in this series.
"“Just look at Game 7 in the First Round, Game 6 against Montreal, and Games 5 and 7 against New York. I think we’ve given up one goal in those four games and we’ve won them all so there’s no denying that this team plays its best when it plays defense first because we have the confidence that our forward group and our defense can score goals.”"
According to Stamkos, which is also something that we touched on in our preview for tonight’s game, it is important to have confidence in their ability and continue to play consistently if you want to walk away with the win in situations like these.
"“We have confidence in our ability. You never know when it’s going to happen. It took 2 periods in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to get it, but we believed that it was going to happen. We have to play that game and that style every game in this series.”"
In just a few more hours, the Tampa Bay Lightning will take the ice for the very first time in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals and finally embrace their date with destiny as they face off with the Chicago Blackhawks in a best of seven, winner takes all showdown.
Everyone here in the Bolts Nation can take a deep breath and know in their hearts that not only do we believe in our Boys in Blue, but they believe in themselves and know deep down inside what needs to be done if they want to bring the Stanley Cup back to Tampa Bay.
Right now, the only thing standing in between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Lord Stanley’s Cup is one team, four wins, 240 minutes, and a whole lot of ice. Sounds simple enough, right?
Are you ready to Be The Thunder tonight as the Tampa Bay Lightning charge into the Amalie Arena to face off with the Chicago Blackhawks tonight? What do you think will be the biggest key to a Lightning victory tonight? Who do you think will step up their game the most in tonight’s encounter? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Next: BBTB Round Table: Highs and Lows of the Eastern Conference Finals
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