The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning, who have played each other in the last two Eastern Conference Finals, will meet for the first time this season on Monday.
Both of these teams, who have been two of the best teams in the NHL over the past two years or so, had slow starts to the season, but have looked much better lately.
For the second-straight season, the Lightning lost their superstar forward, Nikita Kucherov, to a long-term injury. They also saw many of their players, including their entire third line, leave during the offseason.