Maybe the Tampa Bay Lightning have finally gotten the hang of this.
The Lightning, having impressively eliminated Boston — which had the NHL’s best regular-season record — in the second round, have reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth time in six seasons.
Tampa opens the series Monday against the New York Islanders, who eliminated Philadelphia Saturday in Game 7.
But for all of the Lightning’s success, they have yet to win a Stanley Cup. And they entered these playoffs with the nightmare of being eliminated in four games in first round last year, after dominating through the regular season.