TAMPA — Jason Garrison and the Tampa Bay Lightning would rather look ahead and think of what has to be done to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday night.
Accomplish as much at Amalie Arena and the Lightning will book a date in the Stanley Cup final.
Yet Garrison and his teammates — at least those who were involved — can’t help but peer back in time, a year ago to be exact, and remember what can happen when attention strays in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the conference final versus the New York Rangers, the Lightning won Game 5 on the road to take a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven, just like they did on Sunday when they won in overtime in Pittsburgh.