The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four years and will face another perennial contender in the Washington Capitals. The series starts on Friday and both teams will be well rested. The Lightning eliminated the Boston Bruins in the fifth game of their series on Saturday while the Caps needed a sixth game to dispose of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
The Lightning are supposed to be here. Despite missing the playoffs last year, they entered this season as one of the favorites in the east and quickly justified that by looking like the best team in the league for the first half of the season.