LIGHTNING TO FACE WASHINGTON CAPITALS IN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

 
         By: Conor Duncan

   The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their push for the Stanley Cup after eliminating divisional rivals The Boston Bruins. The series was emotional and physical throughout, but the Bolts pulled through, winning the series 5-1. It was an important set of games for the Bolts for a multitude of reasons, but what stood out the most was the depth in lines. Tampa's star forward line of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and JT. Miller fell asleep for the first half of that series but where they fell short, players such as Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat stepped up, creating chances for everyone and scoring some goals for themselves. 

Meanwhile over in Pittsburgh, The Washington Capitals ended the Penguins hopes of winning three straight cups with an overtime goal that led to a 4-2 series win. This particular series meant more than most and for many reasons. First off, The Pens had eliminated the Washington Capitals from playoff contention for three consecutive years, and secondly, The Penguins were looking to three-peat and win the cup for three consecutive years. A lot of weight was put on the shoulders of both teams, and after a long, emotional and somewhat controversial series, it was the Caps that found their way to the eastern conference final against The Tampa bay lightning.

Tampa will open the series on home ice, and with no injuries to any of the players in the lineup. Washington will have trouble getting the upper hand early, but if Tampa's top line falls asleep like they did in round two, anything is possible. The goaltending for both teams has been fantastic, and both the Bolts and the caps have solid defensemen that are good under pressure. Both teams have also proved themselves to be capable in overtime, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. This is going to be a very energetic series with many twists and turns throughout but given how each of these teams have played in both round two and round one, it looks as though The Tampa Bay Lightning have the advantage. While Washington eliminated Pittsburgh, They scraped out a series win over The Columbus Blue Jackets in round one, and seemed to be most effective in the 3rd period during the series against Pittsburgh. Tampa however has dominated both The New Jersey Devils and The Boston Bruins, scoring goals fast and picking up the intensity as the game progresses. The caps will need to regroup and really attack this series hard if they want to advance to The Stanley Cup finals.