PITTSBURGH -- On the calendar, the gap between the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning met and Friday night's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals is less than three months.
Within the lifespan of a season, it seems a lot longer.
When the Lightning blew past the Penguins 4-2 on Feb. 20 -- a victory that earned Tampa Bay a sweep of its three-game season series with Pittsburgh -- Steven Stamkos was still scoring goals, Matt Murray was still the Penguins' third option in net and the Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan's midseason overhaul remained very much a work in progress.