Krenn: Three Things we learned from advancing to the Conference Final

How sweep it is.
For the third-straight season and the sixth time in the last eight seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning are heading to the Stanley Cup Semifinal Round.
With a 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, the Bolts completed a postseason sweep for the third time in franchise history and the first time under head coach Jon Cooper.

Tampa Bay has now won six-straight games since having their backs against the wall down 3-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round One.
With an unbelievable performance from goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, the game went into the third period tied 0-0. It was Pat Maroon who would break the tie, tracking a puck that was in mid-air and batting it down past Sergei Bobrovsky for the 1-0 lead.
The Lightning had to fight through plenty of adversity in Game 4 after having two goals disallowed before Maroon scored the eventual game-winner with 13:44 remaining in the third period.
After Ondrej Palat was whistled for delay of game with 2:30 remaining in the game, the Bolts had to make one last kill after an incredible performance on the PK throughout the entire series. Once again, the penalty kill came through.
With perfect timing after a scramble in front of Tampa Bay's net, Anthony Cirelli collected the puck and fired it all the way down the ice toward the empty net. Palat had just exited the box and after Cirelli's attempt went wide, the puck came right into the slot for an easy tap-in to make it a 2-0 game with 23 seconds remaining.
It was an incredible series for the Lightning on so many different levels.
The penalty kill.
The goaltending.
The sacrifices.
It was just all-around, first-class playoff hockey. Ever since the Bolts went into the third period of Game 6 against Toronto trailing by one goal, they've been playing the kind of hockey that takes you deep into the postseason.
Now, the Lightning can get some much-needed rest and hopefully get a little healthier heading into the Eastern Conference Final.
Here's three things we learned from a series-clinching win over the Panthers.

1. THE BIG CAT
This is just my opinion, but I think it's safe to say that it's time to start mentioning Andrei Vasilevskiy as one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play in the NHL.
Monday's win marked the sixth shutout in Vasilevskiy's last seven series-clinching games.
Since the start of the third period in Game 6 against Toronto, Vasilevskiy has stopped 194 of 198 shots for a .980 save percentage.
Over the four games against Florida this series, he recorded a .981 save percentage and never let up more than one goal in a single game. He allowed three goals the entire series.
No goaltender in NHL history has more series-clinching shutouts than Vasilevskiy.
The Panthers were not shut out once this entire season until Monday night.
How does Vasilevskiy prepare for those big, series-clinching games?
"Nothing special, really," he said. "I think it's just the way the whole team is playing in those games."
Following the spectacular 49-save shutout on Monday night, Vasilevskiy was as humble as ever.
"Just such a great effort by everybody on our team and it's obviously not just me," Vasilevskiy said. "I'm just trying to do my job as best as I can and guys, all four games like that, they just played fearless.
"Huge energy from our fans throughout the playoffs this year, last year, and even when we were in the bubble, we felt that support all the way.
"We're just happy to give them something to cheer on and make our city proud."
When the lights are shining brightest, Vasilevskiy is at his best. There aren't many athletes out there that embrace high-pressure situations the way he does. You almost just know that when you enter a game where the stakes are the highest, Vasilevskiy is going to show up in a big way.
"I'm not so sure there's much more I can say about him," Cooper said. "It's funny how the playoffs are.
"Five games into the Toronto series and you're asking all these questions about what's wrong with Vasilevskiy. Shocking to me.
"There's never a doubt in our locker room."
There shouldn't be any doubt. Last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner and the Vezina Trophy winner in 2018-19, Vasilevskiy has never finished an NHL season with a save percentage lower than .910. He gives the Lightning a chance to win every single time he stands between the pipes. He almost never has an off night.
"It's pretty cool to play with a player that I think will go down as one of the best goalies that's ever played the game," said Tampa Bay forward Alex Killorn. "That's how you kind of gauge players is how they perform in big-time games and he's been nothing but tremendous in these games.
"Whenever you have him, you always have a chance."
The Lightning didn't want to lose tonight's game and have to go back to Sunrise for Game 5. They wanted to close this thing out. Once they saw the performance that Vasilevskiy was putting on, they really didn't want to lose the game. They fought through all the adversity and came out victorious.
"We didn't want to waste that game that he played," said Bolts captain Steven Stamkos. "Obviously we knew they were doing to push and they did. They played outstanding, obviously threw a lot of pucks on net and there he was, Vasy, like he always is in these big games.
"We talked about it. We didn't want to waste this performance by Vasy. What an effort by him tonight."
We've talked about the jersey numbers hanging in the rafters at AMALIE Arena. You can count on 88 being up there when it's all said and done.
Cooper said it best.
"Let's be honest, if you're going to take a team out, there are going to be games where you need your goaltender and, clearly, he was the first, second, and third star tonight."

2. THE RECIPE
The Lightning have talked a lot about their 'recipe.'
Tampa Bay has a plan and a process that they trust and believe in wholeheartedly. While they didn't have their best game on Monday, they still found a way to win.
That's what good teams do.
A lot of that comes with experience. What team has more experience than Tampa Bay?
It hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows for the Bolts, they had to go through some pain to reach where they are now. But through that pain, they gained experience. And with that experience, they formed their recipe for success.
"When the chances come, you don't want them to slide away and we've had some pretty remarkable teams over the years, some that have gotten close," Cooper said. "We went through the heartbreak and we lost in 2015. We lost in Game 7 in 2016 in the Conference Finals, Game 7 in 2018 in the Conference Finals, got swept in 2019…but who's counting?
"Trust me, it's painful, but you take a little bit and you learn, including myself. I've learned and this team's learned."
The pain that the core group has gone through has proven to very much be worth it in the long run. All that experience has created a team that simply knows how to win games in the postseason.
The Lightning are blocking shots and playing for each other like the 2015 team that was filled with players fighting for their first ring.
"We've found the recipe that has obviously allowed us to go deep into the playoffs and especially in the last two and a half years now," Stamkos said. "We want to keep it up. It's the most fun and gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking time of the year, but that's just an amazing feeling.
"You can't really describe it unless you go through it and this group has certainly been through it."
No team in the salary cap era scored more regular-season goals than the Panthers did this season. With great goaltending and endless sacrifice, Tampa Bay held Florida to three goals in the entire series.
"If you were going ask me that at the outset, I probably would have laughed at you," Cooper said. "The big thing for us though, we came into this series with a plan.
"The guys, to their credit, you've got to sacrifice so much and the bodies, that's part of the plan. You have to do it if you want to win.
"These guys are playing a game right now almost like they have not won a Stanley Cup and they're chasing it for the first time."
The recipe is working. The players have all bought in. Now they have to win eight more games to reach the top of the mountain again.

3. TEN IN A ROW
Entering Tuesday night, only two franchises in NHL history had won ten-straight playoff series, the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens.
After the Lightning won Game 4, they added their name to that list.
"That's where you're really measured, right," Cooper asked. "What are you doing in the playoffs?
"To win 10 series in a row - hopefully we're not done with that streak.
"But it's pretty cool tonight to sit back and marvel at."
Tampa Bay continues to add their name to the NHL record books. Not just the team either, but individual players as well. That's not what it's about for this group.
And while 10 in a row is amazing, it's not enough.
"It's a special group, no doubt," said Stamkos. "And the beauty of the group is that we're not satisfied.
"We want 12 straight."
We all know what happens when you win 12 straight. You've won three-straight Stanley Cups. Stamkos isn't the only one who wants that. The entire team wants it.
"Twelve would sound even better," said Killorn. "It's impressive.
"It's special to be a part of this group. Like I said with Vasy, I think there's a lot of players on this team that will go down as some pretty good players, Hall of Fame players.
"I'm just happy to be a part of it, to be honest."
It all started with a four-game series sweep to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019. The Lightning won 62 games in the regular season, tying the NHL's all-time record for wins in a single season.
In the blink of an eye, that meant nothing. The season was over just like that.
But that series lit a fire under the entire group. In a very weird way, that series loss could be viewed as extremely beneficial for this group. Like Cooper mentioned before, it was a lesson that the team had to learn.
But how much did the Lightning learn from that four-game sweep? Cooper answered that question in one simple sentence.
"Well, we haven't lost since."