Young Lightning on brink of acing another playoff test

TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning's strenuous climb through the playoffs this spring has been the NHL's version of a work-study program.

Because several of Tampa Bay's key younger players had never won an NHL playoff game before this season, the Lightning have been learning on the job. Now they are at the point where they can advance to the Stanley Cup Final by winning one more game. They host the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network) at Amalie Arena.

"We are a growing team," veteran Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman said. "We haven't been put in a lot of tricky situations and (these playoffs) are kind of the first test for us. We grew a lot from that Game 7 against Detroit in the first round."

Trailing 3-2 in the opening-round series, the Lightning won a Game 6 in Detroit and then won Game 7 at home on a shutout.

"We faced elimination. ... It takes a lot of character to win like that," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. "I think we've grown a lot."

In all three series, the Lightning have known setbacks. The Red Wings pushed them to elimination, and the Montreal Canadiens gave them problems, winning two in a row to pull within 3-2 in East semifinals. On Friday, the Rangers routed the Lightning 5-1 in Tampa to tie the series 2-2, and and it appeared goalie Henrik Lundqvist's Rangers were taking charge of the series as it shifted back to New York.

But each time the Lightning have faced adversity in the playoffs, they have figured out how to solve their problems and move forward.

"(Against Montreal) I think we learned that we can't lose track and lose focus," Stralman said. "Now we are in a situation again that we can close out a series and we have to make sure we remember lessons learned."

Along the way, the high-scoring Lightning seem to have learned that their offensive touch becomes a bigger advantage when they tighten down their defense. They allowed a series-low 22 shots on net in Monday's 2-0 win.

"You have to pull the reins back and talk about what we've talked about from the first day of training camp," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It's not how many you score – it is how many you keep out of the net."

Despite the inconsistencies that come with inexperience, the Lightning's youthfulness is a strength. The five top-scoring forwards — Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn — are 25 and under. Bottom-six forward Cedric Paquette is 21. Hedman, a defenseman who could soon win a Norris Trophy, is 24. Key role player J.T. Brown is 24. Goalie Ben Bishop and Stralman are 28. Brenden Morrow and Valtteri Filppula are the only players in the 31-and-over category.

Regardless of what happens in these playoffs, the Lightning could be a contending team for a lengthy period.

The "Triplets" line of Palat, Johnson and Kucherov has been the talk of the postseason, combining for 25 of the Lightning's 50 goals. But Stamkos, the Lightning captain, is still the flag carrier of this group.

At 25, he has already played 492 regular-season games and generated 498 points. He's one of the NHL's top five centers, and he has been a commanding presence when the Lightning have been on the downward trajectory of their roller coaster ride this spring. He couldn't find the net in his first eight games, and now he has seven goals in his past 10 games. At a time when the Lightning need him most, he has a goal in four consecutive games.

"The one thing with Stammer is that he's not getting the sixth goal in a 6-2 game," Cooper said. "He's getting the go-ahead goal or the one you build off."

Nobody on the Lightning was concerned about Stamkos when he was slumping early because he is player with a history of learning from his mistakes.

"It's funny how it works," Cooper said. "The spotlight is on you so often that everybody just expects greatness all the time. To become great, you fail sometimes. And (Stamkos) is great. You don't get just by success. It's the guys who fight through failure that rise to the top."

Follow Kevin Allen on Twitter @ByKevinAllen.

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