TAMPA — Imagine starting a journey at the bottom of a mountain that takes eight months to trek to the top. But just two steps short of reaching the peak, you get knocked back down to the bottom.
After a short recovery period, you are at the bottom staring back up at the peak, remembering how long it took to get close to the top.
That is the challenge the Lightning face this season, trying to get back to the Stanley Cup Final. The journey starts again Thursday, when Tampa Bay opens the 2015-16 season less than four months after the last one ended in disappointment, two wins shy of the Stanley Cup.