The Tampa Bay Lightning have punched their tickets for the conference finals and will face the Boston Bruins who have raced to a 3-0 series lead with little doubt they would make the same mistake they did last year and become the 3rd team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead.
Tampa Bay took out a strong Pittsburgh Penguins team in 7 games in round 1. Against the #1 ranked Washington Capitals they were embarassed and swept them off the ice with the broom. Washington which is usually a strong team will probably have their team ripped apart and maybe they didn't deserve it however their performance against the lightning will put their coach, captain and other star players into question if this is a team built to win the Stanley Cup or not.
Tampa Bay right now is on fire: Vincent Lecavalier is basically leading the playoffs in scoring. Martin St-Louis is having another MVP year just like in 2004 when he won the Hart trophy. Steve Stamkos is looking stronger as the playoffs carry on and he is starting to snipe a few goals. Dominic Moore is stepping up huge and Steve Yzerman looks like a genius as a result. Sean Bergenheim is providing excellent secondary scoring and his timely goals just zapped the Caps of any sort of confidence.
Last but not least, Dwayne Roloson is 41 but has robbed the Capitals of sure goals and is proving he is definitely the real deal. Not only a great pickup but another mastermind play from general manager Steve Yzerman that has this team feeling like they can win the cup this year.
