Lightning keeps striking

Try as they might, no one can seem to bottle up the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Boston Bruins thought they had Tampa Bay figured out. Their goalie, Tim Thomas, was coming off an impressive shutout performance in Game 3, and the Bruins had a stranglehold on Game 4 after the 1st period, leading 3-0. It was getting so lopsided that Tampa Bay pulled their starting goalie due to ineffectiveness. A win would have given Boston a 3-1 series lead, and put them a win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

However, the Lightning had different ideas. After a brutal fight to end the first period, Tampa Bay came out scoring, with two goals a minute apart by Teddy Purcell to pull within one. Minutes later, Sean Bergenheim tied the game at 3 apiece. Bergenheim leads the NHL in goals this postseason with 9. He had only 14 the entire regular season.

In the third period, it was the stars who showed up for Tampa Bay. Simon Gagne netted the game-winner, and Martin St. Louis the game-clinching empty netter for a 5-3 win. Mike Smith, who played in 22 games all season, was perfect in relief, stopping all 21 shots he saw.

The Lightning have been an offensive juggernaut all postseason. Tampa Bay leads the NHL in goals/game, with 3.43. Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier are tied with Ryan Kesler for the second most points in the postseason with 16.

The Lightning, like their name implies, like the strike fast and hard. While most teams use a 1-2-2 as their basic forechecking system, Tampa Bay uses the aggressive 2-1-2. In a normal 1-2-2 system, the forward closest to the puck applies presser to the opposing player with the puck, and attempts to dislodge it. Another forward attempts to gain possession of the dislodged puck, and the third forward cuts off weak-side passing lanes.

The 2-1-2 is completely different. In this system, the team dumps a puck into the offensive zone and has two forwards immediately put pressure on the puck. The third forward supports the two attacking forwards, and the defensemen are pulled up from the neutral zone to the opposing blue line. If the strategy backfires, the opposition can have an easy run at the goal. But, when used effectively, it can be deadly, because it puts a ton of pressure on the defending team.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are attempting to be the make history. If they can somehow win the Stanley Cup, they would become only the second 5 seed in NHL history to capture the trophy. The New Jersey Devils won the cup as the 5 seed in the East in 1995. And unless Tim Thomas and the Bruins can figure out how to stop the aggressive scoring attack of the Lightning, Tampa Bay might just have their chance.