A third straight Lightning Stanley Cup isn’t hard to imagine

Tampa Bay Lightning won their second straight Stanley Cup last year. They lost five players from the team that won the final. The team is playing its first outdoor game on Saturday at Nashville's Nissan Stadium. They have the championship experience, better goaltending and a core group that's at least as talented as any of the other teams. If the playoffs started tomorrow, Tampa would be solid favourites. It's puzzling that the Lightning hasn't been given this kind of added profile before under the Gary Bettman administration. Other teams have. Tampa has the better record. Florida, Carolina and Colorado have better records.

The Lightning are aiming for a third straight Stanley Cup. To contribute to Conversations, you need to be a registered Torstar account holder.