from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,
They have scoring champions, all-stars and a player with goals in eight of his last nine games.
And yet the reason the Tampa Bay Lightning are most bullish on their chances at a second straight Stanley Cup is the dwindling number under their “goals against” column.
On Thursday the Lightning kept their cool inside the hothouse at Nassau Coliseum, drawing the line between passive and pursuing with a clinical 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders to establish a 2-1 lead in their semifinal series.
This should be required viewing for every upstart organization with designs on breaking through. The Lightning have been beating teams with their skill for years and more recently added the guile necessary to consistently survive tight games like this one on Long Island.
“This group knows to flip that switch when the time comes,” said captain Steven Stamkos. “I think we’ve proved that in the past, we’ve proved it again here in the playoffs. It’s a battle each and every night.
“The further you go, the tougher the task is and we knew they were going to push. They had a good push.”
Watch the game highlights below.
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