from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

They play with abandon.

They are not afraid to think or live outside the box, entrusting great responsibility to those with only a modicum of experience at this level.

They have developed an endearing swagger about themselves that is somehow not off-putting.

And right now, they’re down 1-0 in their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since the franchise's only Stanley Cup win in 2004.

So, how do they avoid going from loveable underdogs to road kill?

Comeback kids: One of the interesting parts of the Lightning’s road to the finals is that they have mixed in some real stinkers. Five times this spring they have allowed four or more goals. Yet they have almost always found a way to regroup after a bad outing, having lost two in a row just once this spring. But after dropping Game 1 against the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 by allowing two third-period goals less than two minutes apart, the Lightning find themselves in unfamiliar territory having to bounce back from a loss in which they felt they played well for a large portion of the game.

"Last game was tough in a way that we played really well and just couldn't get it done," captain Steven Stamkos said Thursday. "We've had some tough ones where we didn't play well, didn't deserve it, bounced back. This will be a different test for our group."

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