Two of the NHL's deepest and fastest teams are about to face-off in the Eastern Conference Final as the Lightning and Penguins prepare to open up their best-of-seven series on Friday in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins overcame the New York Rangers in Round 1 in five games and followed it up by ousting the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals in six. The Lightning, meanwhile, knocked off the Red Wings in five games in the opening round and then took out the Islanders in five games in Round 2.
Pittsburgh is in the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2013, when it was swept away by the Bruins. The Penguins are looking to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since winning it all in 2009.
Tampa Bay is in the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight postseason and downed the Rangers in seven games last time it was here. The Lightning lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Blackhawks in six games last spring and hasn't hoisted the greatest trophy in sports since 2004.
Here is a preview and our prediction for the 2015-16 Eastern Conference Final. For our Sharks-Blues predictions, click here.
[Metropolitan No. 2] Pittsburgh Penguins (48-26-8, 104 points) vs. [Atlantic No. 2] Tampa Bay Lightning (46-31-5, 97 points)
Round 2 Reflection: Last time around, we picked both teams to lose in 7. The Penguins won in 6 and the Lightning won in 5.
Season Series: 3-0 Lightning. The Lightning defeated the Penguins 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 15 (in Tampa Bay), 6-3 on Feb. 5 (in Tampa Bay) and 4-2 on Feb. 20 (in Pittsburgh).
Special Teams (out of 16 postseason clubs): Penguins: 27.5 percent power play (3rd), 83.3 percent penalty kill (5th); Lightning: 16.3 percent power play (9th), 88.4 percent penalty kill (3rd).
Projected Goalie Matchup: Pittsburgh: Matt Murray (7-2, 2.05 goals-against average, .935 save percentage); Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop (8-2, 1.89 GAA, .938 save percentage)
Series Overview: This will be a star-studded Eastern Conference Final between two deep teams that can score and two goalies that have been mostly great through the first two rounds.
These teams have only met once in the playoffs before and that was in the first-round of the 2011 playoffs. Playing without Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee), the Penguins blew a 3-1 series lead and fell to the Lightning in seven games.
This time around, the Lightning are dealing with key injuries as Steven Stamkos (blood clot) and defenseman Anton Stralman (broken leg) have both been sidelined throughout the first two rounds, but could be back by the time this series ends. The ailments haven't impacted Tampa Bay, which is a combined 8-2 through the opening two rounds.
The driving force for the Lightning thus far has been Nikita Kucherov, who has scored nine of the club's 30 goals through the first two rounds, which leads the NHL.
Tyler Johnson has a club-best nine assists and 13 points this postseason, while Jonathan Drouin paces the team with eight helpers and has nine points along with Alex Killorn (three goals, six assists) and Victor Hedman (four tallies, five helpers). Hedman logs a team-best 27:30 average time on ice while playing anchoring the defense for Tampa Bay.
Hedman will look to shut down a dynamic Penguins team that boasts plenty of depth.
Despite Crosby and Malkin combining for one goal and three assists last round, the Penguins were still able to down the Capitals. Much of their success is due to their line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, which combined to go 7-11--18 against Washington and notched all four goals in the team's Game 6 clincher -- which includes Bonino's overtime series-winning marker.
Kessel leads the team with 12 points and is tied with Patric Hornqvist for the club lead with five goals. Bonino has a team-best eight assists along with10 points, while Crosby is 3-7--10 and Malkin is 3-6--9. Kris Letang helps hold up the Pittsburgh blue line and has seven assists and eight points while logging a team-leading 29:26 time on ice.
The goaltending matchup is very intriguing as the rookie in Murray goes up against the battle-tested Bishop, who helped lead the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago. Both netminders have had their issues, including Bishop being pulled in Game 1 against the Islanders, but both have battled back from adversity.
Bishop ranks third in goals-against average among all playoff goalies, while Murray ranks fourth.
Since entering in Game 3 of Round 1, Murray, 21, has already gotten past former Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist and this year's Vezina favorite Braden Holtby, and he hasn't been bothered by the big stage. If he does falter, the Penguins could turn to Marc-Andre Fleury, who is ready to play after a concussion.
Bishop, 29, is a Vezina Trophy finalist this season and has two shutouts in the playoffs thus far.
Last Call: The Lightning got the better of the Penguins in all three meetings this season, but their last head-to-head matchup was in February and the Penguins are 22-5 since March 11. This will be a back-and-forth series between two highly-skilled clubs, but it doesn't seem like anyone can stop the Penguins this year. Pittsburgh is tops in the NHL in goals-for per game this postseason (3.36), while Tampa Bay is second in goals-allowed (1.90), so this should be a very tight series. Bishop could draw on experience to best his rookie counterpart, but the Penguins depth and ability to keep up with the Lightning's speed will make the difference.
The Pick: Penguins in 6.