How broad it is.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have advanced to the Stanley Cup Semifinal Round for the third consecutive season and the sixth time in the past eight seasons.
The Bolts accomplished a postseason sweep for the third time in team history and the first time under head coach Jon Cooper with a 2-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Monday night.
Since losing 3-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round One, Tampa Bay has won six straight games.
The game proceeded into the third period locked 0-0 thanks to Andrei Vasilevskiy's outstanding performance. Pat Maroon broke the deadlock, following a puck in mid-air and smashing it past Sergei Bobrovsky for a 1-0 advantage.
After having two goals disallowed in Game 4, the Lightning had to fight through a lot of adversity before Maroon scored the game-winner with 13:44 left in the third period.
With 2:30 left in the game, Ondrej Palat was called for delay of game, forcing the Bolts to make one more kill after an excellent PK performance throughout the series. The penalty kill was successful once more.
Anthony Cirelli gathered the puck and shot it all the way down the ice toward the empty net following a scuffle in front of Tampa Bay's net. With 23 seconds remaining, Palat had just escaped the penalty, and when Cirelli's shot went wide, the puck came straight into the slot for an easy tap-in to make it a 2-0 game.
In so many ways, it was a tremendous series for the Lightning.
The penalty shootout.
The goalkeepers.
The price paid.
It was just first-rate playoff hockey all around. Since trailing by one goal in the third period of Game 6 against Toronto, the Bolts have been playing the type of hockey that gets you deep into the playoffs.
The Lightning can now recuperate and hopefully grow healthy before the Eastern Conference Final.
Here are three takeaways from the Panthers' series-clinching victory.
1. THE BIG CAT
This is just my opinion, but I believe it's time to start referring to Andrei Vasilevskiy as one of the best goaltenders to ever play in the NHL.
Vasilevskiy's sixth shutout in his previous seven series-clinching games came on Monday.
Vasilevskiy has saved 194 of 198 shots for a.980 save percentage since the start of the third period in Game 6 against Toronto.
He had a.981 save % and never allowed more than one goal in any of the four games versus Florida in this series. Throughout the series, he only conceded three goals.
Vasilevskiy has the most series-clinching shutouts of any goaltender in NHL history.
Until Monday night, the Panthers had not been shut out all season.
How does Vasilevskiy get ready for series-clinching games?
"It's nothing exceptional," he remarked. "I believe it is just the way the entire squad plays in those games."
Vasilevskiy remained modest after his amazing 49-save shutout on Monday night.
"Everyone on our team put in such a terrific effort, and it's certainly not just me," Vasilevskiy remarked. "I'm just trying to do the best job I can, and those four games, they just played fearlessly."
"We had tremendous support from our supporters throughout the playoffs this year, last year, and even when we were on the cusp.
"All we want to do is offer them something to root for and show off our city."
Vasilevskiy is at his best when the lights are brightest. There aren't many athletes that like high-pressure situations as much as he does. You almost have a feeling Vasilevskiy will come up in a huge way when you enter a game with the greatest stakes.
Cooper replied, "I'm not sure there's much more I can say about him." "The playoffs are funny that way.
"You're asking all these questions about what's wrong with Vasilevskiy five games into the Toronto series." It astounds me.
"In our locker room, there's never a doubt."
There should be no ambiguity. Vasilevskiy, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner last year and the Vezina Trophy winner last season, has never concluded an NHL season with a save percentage below.910. Every time he steps between the pipes, he gives the Lightning a chance to win. He seldom ever had a bad night.
"It's really great to play with a person who I believe will go down as one of the finest goalies in the game's history," Tampa Bay forward Alex Killorn said. "How guys perform in big-time games is how you judge them, and he's been nothing but phenomenal in these games."
"You always have a chance when you have him."
The Lightning didn't want to lose tonight's game and have to play Game 5 in Sunrise. They wanted to put an end to it. They didn't want to lose the game after seeing Vasilevskiy's performance. They persevered in the face of hardship and triumphed.
"We didn't want to waste that game," Bolts captain Steven Stamkos explained. "Obviously, we expected them to push, and they did." They played well, clearly putting a lot of pucks in the net, and Vasy was there, as he always is in important games.
"We discussed it." We didn't want to squander Vasy's performance. What a show he put on tonight."
The jersey numbers in the rafters of AMALIE Arena have been discussed previously. When it's all said and done, you can depend on 88 to be there.
Cooper said it up well.
"Let's face it, if you're going to take a team out, there are going to be games when your goalkeeper is needed, and he was definitely the first, second, and third star tonight."
2. THE RECIPE
The Lightning has discussed their recipe extensively.
Tampa Bay has a strategy and a method that they fully trust and believe in. Despite not playing their greatest game on Monday, they still managed to win.
That's what successful teams do.
A lot of it is learned via experience. Who has more experience than the Tampa Bay Lightning?
The Bolts haven't had it easy; they've had to go through some hardships to get to where they are now. However, they earned experience as a result of their suffering. And it was from that experience that they developed their winning formula.
"You don't want opportunities to slip away," Cooper said. "We've had some fairly spectacular teams throughout the years, some that have come close." "In 2015, we went through heartache and loss." We lost in Game 7 of the Conference Finals in 2016, Game 7 of the Conference Finals in 2018, and were swept in 2019... But who's keeping track?
"Believe me, it's difficult, but you learn a little bit at a time, even myself." I've learned, and so has this crew."
In the end, the agony that the core group has endured has proven to be well worth it. All of this expertise has resulted in a club that just understands how to win postseason games.
The Lightning is blocking shots and playing for one another like the 2015 club, which was full of players vying for their first championship.
"We've discovered the mix that has allowed us to go far into the playoffs, particularly in the last two and a half years," Stamkos said. "We want to maintain our momentum." It's the most exciting, heartfelt, and nerve-wracking time of the year, but it's an incredible feeling.
"You can't truly articulate it until you've experienced it, and this gang has."
The Panthers scored the most regular-season goals of any club in the salary cap era this season. Tampa Bay restricted Florida to three goals in the whole series because of outstanding goaltending and unwavering sacrifice.
"I probably would have laughed at you if you had asked me that right then," Cooper added. "The important thing for us is that we went into this series with a strategy.
"To their credit, the boys have had to give so much, and the corpses are part of the strategy. If you want to win, you must do it.
"These guys are playing like they haven't won a Stanley Cup in a long time and are pursuing it for the first time."
The recipe is effective. All of the participants have invested. To return to the top of the mountain, they must win eight more games.
3. TEN IN A ROW
The New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens were the only teams in NHL history to win 10 consecutive playoff series as of Tuesday night.
The Lightning was added to the list after winning Game 4.
"Isn't that where you're actually judged?" Cooper inquired. "What are your plans for the postseason?
"We've won 10 series in a row, and hopefully we're not done yet.
"However, it's very amazing to sit back and marvel at tonight."
The Tampa Bay Lightning continues to make history in the NHL. Not just the team, but also the individual players. This group isn't interested in that.
And while ten consecutive wins are impressive, it isn't enough.
"There's no doubt it's a fantastic bunch," Stamkos remarked. "And the group's beauty is that we're never content."
"We're looking for 12 straight."
We've all seen what happens when you win 12 games in a row. You've now won three consecutive Stanley Cups. That isn't something just Stamkos desires. It is desired by the entire crew.
"Twelve would be much better," Killorn remarked. "It's incredible.
"Being a part of this group is unique. As I mentioned with Vasy, I believe this club has a number of guys that will go down in history as Hall of Fame players.
"To be honest, I'm simply delighted to be a part of it."
It all started in 2019 with a four-game sweep of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Lightning tied the NHL record for most wins in a single season with 62 victories during the regular season.
That was meaningless in the blink of an eye. That was the end of the season.
However, that series enthralled the entire gang. That series defeat might be considered as highly advantageous for this bunch in an odd manner. It was a lesson that the squad had to learn, as Cooper previously stated.
But what did the Lightning take away from their four-game sweep? Cooper responded to the question with a single statement.
"We haven't lost since then."
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