The Tampa Bay Lightning hopes to close out the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
Otherwise, the Eastern Conference Finals could get dicey yet.
The Lightning is home against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. But if the Penguins win, then Game Seven is in Pittsburgh. True, the Lightning won the last meeting between the teams there, but it’s not adviseable to try to make a living. Pittsburgh was 26-11-4 at home this season.
Then there is this. If the teams were to play a Game Seven, then coach Jon Cooper would have a decision to make in goal. Would he go with Ben Bishop, the team’s MVP this season? Or would he stay with Andrei Vasileskiy, who has played for most of this series. Obviously, much of the decision would be based on whether Bishop was healthy enough to offset the time he has missed.
The Lightning again will face the high-powered Penguins’ offense featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.
A year ago, the Bolts were in a similar position. They had a chance to close out the Rangers, but they lost badly. And they had to find a way to win a Game Seven.
If the Lightning were to win tonight, they would reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year (the third in franchise history).
Game time is 8 p.m. At Amalie Arena.
