The Tampa Bay Lightning completed a long, grinding, 82-game regular season just for the opportunity to get to this point
Now the second season, the real one, begins.
The Lightning host the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of a First Round Stanley Cup Playoffs series tonight, a rematch of last year’s opening round battle that went the distance. Detroit snuck out of Amalie Arena with a victory in Game 1 last season, forcing the Bolts to play catchup the rest of the series.
Tampa Bay, in fact, has struggled historically in Game 1s, going 1-7 in the opening game of a First Round playoff series.