TAMPA, Fla. - It will be Tampa Bay vs. Chicago in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals that begin Wednesday night, with the tradition-rich Blackhawks aiming for a third title in six years.
While the Blackhawks have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Lightning feature two-time NHL goal-scoring champion Steven Stamkos and the youthful, but dynamic "Triplets" line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Nikita Kucherov.
One can debate whether Tampa Bay or the New York Rangers, the team the Lightning eliminated to make the Cup Finals, would be better for television ratings. There's no argument, though, over whether the Lightning belong.