The Tampa Bay Lightning advance to the Stanley Cup Final last season before losing in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. For the Lightning it was their first trip to the Final since 2004, the year they captured their first championship. Tampa’s success in making it to the last round of the post season can be attributed to a better emphasis on defense.
“I think it’s taken a couple of years,” remarked Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper earlier this season. “We’ve had to kind of train the players all over again – and one of our mandates when I took over (he was hired in the 2012-13 season) was to become a better defensive team.