Lightning get back to work following the Florida sweep

The Tampa Bay Lightning were back on the ice Thursday as they await the start of the Eastern Conference Final. The Bolts will start the next round on the road against the winner of the series between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, who are set to battle tonight in Game 5 with the series tied 2-2.
The time off for Tampa Bay gives some banged up players the opportunity to get much-needed rest and recovery, but also takes the Lightning out of the groove they were in during their six-game winning streak.

"It's nice to get some rest," Bolts captain Steven Stamkos said on Thursday. "We've got a long time in between series. You've got some guys that are banged up, so it's going to be nice for them to get healed up.
"On the other hand, you're just so used to playing every other day and you're in that groove and that's kind of nice too. It's kind of pick your poison there. Obviously, it was nice to just get a couple days to relax and be home."

The Bolts swept the Panthers with a win at AMALIE Arena last Monday, the first time Tampa Bay has recorded a sweep under head coach Jon Cooper and the third time they've done it in franchise history.
Nikita Kucherov led the way for the Lightning in the Second Round with seven points in the four games, scoring two goals and adding five assists. He continues to lead the Bolts in overall playoff scoring with 15 points (4G, 11A) in 10 games. Stamkos took some time on Thursday to reminisce on Kucherov's arrival to Tampa and his time with the Lightning to this point.
"I think when he scored his first NHL goal they called him Dmitri Kucherov, so that goes to show you, not a lot of people knew about him coming in," Stamkos laughed. "To be honest, I really didn't know much about Kuch when he came over. Quiet kid, didn't speak a lot of English, but you could see the skill was there.
"There's so many players that come over and have skill and it just doesn't translate to anything. The thing that sticks out with him was the work ethic and just the ability to have the confidence to try things. It's not easy when you come over and you're in a situation like that.
"You have to give Kuch a lot of credit. His English is great now. He might play that off with you guys a little bit, but he's bought in and that's kind of been the transition that you've seen that's made him a superstar in this league and why he can elevate his game at this time of the year when it's so hard to.
"He's willing to do whatever it takes. You see him on the ice before practice, after practice, working on his game. At his house in the garage working on his game. Watching video. It's been amazing.
"I've played with some Hall of Fame players, but this guy's special and you just have to appreciate it while you're watching it right now because it's pretty remarkable what he's been able to do, especially at this time of the year."
Kucherov continues to leave his fingerprints all over the Tampa Bay playoff record book. He owns the Lightning's all-time playoff records for goals (48), assists (94), points (142), plus/minus (+31), points-per-game (1.15), even-strength goals (33), even-strength points (82), and power-play points (60).
He has continued to show up in the postseason and has elevated his game at the most important moments, including in the absence of Brayden Point. Losing Point in Game 7 of the Toronto series could have been a disaster for the Bolts, but they used it as fuel and kept going. Point's status remains uncertain ahead of the Eastern Conference Final, but he hasn't been ruled out.
"We just hope there's enough time for him to get back and play this playoffs," Stamkos said. "This rest is certainly nice, like I said before, but the crazy thing is we lose him early on in that Game 7.
"Probably not a lot of people thought we'd be sitting here winning that Game 7 and then sweeping Florida without one of our best players and one of the best players in the world. Credit to the group for just sticking together and buckling down and playing a certain way."

Florida was the popular pick heading into the Second Round, especially with the Lightning missing Point, but the Bolts just kept chugging along, playing the exact same way they have starting in the third period of Game 6 against Toronto. They weren't ready to be done.
"You put people in the lineup, they just they want to win," said Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern. "They want to keep going.
"I think this group has a schoolyard mentality of you win, you keep playing. They don't want to give up the court."
Tampa Bay hasn't given up their spot on that court and they've earned some much-needed rest with that mentality. But when the puck drops for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, they'll look to pick up right where they left off.
"We won that game in overtime, Game 6, and then it was like, 'Okay, we know how to win these games.' We know the style that we have to play and it's not the run and gun game, it's the shutdown game," Stamkos said. "Let's get a lead and let's protect that lead, but not sit back and keep attacking.
"That's how you win at this time of the year. We're certainly confident and not trying to press for offense, not trying to make that extra play, not trying to risk anything at an inopportune moment.
"It took us a while to figure that out, but when we did, we've stuck with it and it's worked."