Does Tampa have what it takes to win the Cup?

[OVO16]

Only if they finally got rid of their choking habits.

Tampa has had a team good enough to Win the Stanley Cup for quite some time now but they choke when it matters.

Lightning fans better hope this is different

 

[OVO16]

Seeing Boston lately and the Caps looking better I’m not so sure. The only thing I’m confident on is Tampa gets out of round 1 and let’s be honest. If they draw someone like Carolina who comes in running hot there’s no guarantees. They also struggled with the Isles this year in all 3 games against them. The obviously suck at the moment but if they were to get get hot in the final 5-10 games and end up as WC2 I think they could be a dangerous matchup

Boston is winning the Cup this year.

Tampa will be destroyed by them.

Boston is getting overrated now. Recency bias is having to do a lot with this. Boston is good but still nowhere near Tampa's standards if we're going off this season.

We're talking about a Bruins team that is practically the same as last year...who got beat in 5 games by Tampa. And Tampa is considerably stronger this year

 

[DFC]

They looked really good last night, don’t think that was cruise control. But yeah thought it was a good effort against a struggling team. I know they had been guilty of playing down to their competition before, but did not see that last night. I am curious how they will fair tomorrow against a potential 2nd round match up.

It was cruise control. When Detroit scored to end the second, TB came out hard in the 3rd. That's kind of the way it's been in the second half of the season. You don't see the real TB Lightning until late in a close game. Best example is the Montreal game a few weeks ago, close through 2 periods, and then we blew their doors off in the 3rd.

 

[DFC]

The Lightning have only played "balls to the wall" in like 5 minute spurts when they're down or tied. The moment they get a two goal lead they totally coast. They've been using the PP and quick starts to get easy leads and just managing the game after that. Any high scoring blowout wins they get are just from countering or PPing opponents to death.

Yeah. There was that one game vs. Chicago, or maybe Dallas, where we dominated wire to wire. Aside from that, we really just coast to wins, and turn it on when we have to. We have enough skill to score opportunistic goals. At least, a lot more than the average team.

We CAN dominate at times, no doubt, but it definitely seems like they save that for moments when games are on the line. That's been the big difference this year--we've figure out how to do that without it getting out of hand. In years past it cost us a lot of games.

 

[heynowbababooey]

Nope

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

If they don’t win the cup this year, they’re the biggest chokers in the NHL.

Probably worse than Ovechkin and the Capitals pre cup.

 

[holy]

If they don’t win the cup this year, they’re the biggest chokers in the NHL.

Probably worse than Ovechkin and the Capitals pre cup.

If they lose in the first round, holayyy.

 

[psycat]

Of course? Would still bet on the field vs them but that's just the nature of the league, however if I had to bet on one team it would be Tampa hands down.

 

[JianYang]

It would be interesting to see how this team reacts if they started the first round down 2-0.

They have been cruising all year, and faced little adversity. Then after two games, they need to win 4 of 5 games to avoid getting kicked out?

Anyways, the talent is cup level for sure. So it's a matter surviving the endurance aspect of the Cup, and not shooting themselves in the foot.

Shooting themselves in the foot is probably less likely in a place like Tampa. The pressures will mostly be internal, rather than external, so really, their big test is how they cope with the endurance component.

 

[BruinLVGA]

Seeing Boston lately and the Caps looking better I’m not so sure. The only thing I’m confident on is Tampa gets out of round 1 and let’s be honest. If they draw someone like Carolina who comes in running hot there’s no guarantees. They also struggled with the Isles this year in all 3 games against them. The obviously suck at the moment but if they were to get get hot in the final 5-10 games and end up as WC2 I think they could be a dangerous matchup

Yes, in a playoffs series anything could happen, of course. But I think that it stands to reason to consider the Lightnings the better equipped team for winning the Cup this season. I hope that if they meet my Bruins, they'll sink like the Titanic, but Boston would most definitely be the underdogs.

 

[King In The North]

I think they do.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Not that I question their skill, coaching and abilities, but who here thinks they will run out of gas? They have been balls to the wall since game 1 and I sometimes think there will be nothing left in the tank come round 2/3 and SCF. Look at Winnipeg last year. They played well all year and hit a wall in the WCF

They're pretty much in cruise control for months now.

 

[Dekes For Days]

I think it would be foolish to think anybody else has better odds. That said, they have had the best odds before and come up short, and I would be very worried about facing zero adversity and playing for nothing all season, and then trying to instantly flip a switch in the playoffs. Especially going up against a team that has been in playoff mode for a month or more. Historically, that has been a big challenge for teams.

And it looks like their first match-up might either be the won-2-of-the-last-3-cups Penguins or the all-in-for-this-year CBJ, which I don't think is ideal for them.

 

[The Shovel Penguin]

Of course they do. In theory I tend to think a lot of the playoff teams have what it takes to win it, especially once you get to the final four. It's just that it's not done on paper and actually winning it requires so many things to come together at the right time.

The cup is a bit of catching lightning in a bottle, if you'll pardon the expression.

 

[Chimaera]

They do have what it takes, but whether they will or not is certainly the question.

It's never easy in the NHL and anything can happen. They're going to face at least two difficult series, and you never know. Who gets them in the first round could be a bunch of trouble. If it's the Penguins, you never know.

 

[Pip]

Of course they do what a stupid question

 

[Legionnaire]

I'll take that bet. No. I have a 15 in 16 chance of being correct.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

IMO, they needed to trade for a Ristolainen type guy. Kucherov got pushed around by Risto big time, and ended up fighting him. Think about it. Kuch is fighting Risto. Tampa needed to add some nastiness. Risto, Zadorov, something like that. I don't know whether they are build to withstand a lot of physical play. Yes, the game has changed - but it is still much heavier in the playoffs.

Tampa never was eliminated in the playoffs because of lack of nastiness, they did so because they faced hungrier & better coached teams.

 

[BostonBruins11]

Boston is getting overrated now. Recency bias is having to do a lot with this. Boston is good but still nowhere near Tampa's standards if we're going off this season.

We're talking about a Bruins team that is practically the same as last year...who got beat in 5 games by Tampa. And Tampa is considerably stronger this year

Tampa has what it takes to win and they are obviously better than Boston

BUT

"We're talking about a Bruins team that is practically the same as last year"

This is incorrect. They added 6 players + have a healthy Carlo/McAvoy
McAvoy/Carlo/DeBrusk took massive strives this year.

they are NOTHING like last year.

 

[stepdad gaary]

if they dont have what it takes then im not sure any team does. That being said, that doesnt mean they will win it. A lot of NHL teams have "enough" to win so its not just about getting enough

 

[Volodya Krutov]

The Capitals had that playoff magic in the ECF last year but Tampa showed extreme high level skill as a group, showed they should be knocking on the door again

Indeed. Skills is what made Tampa a consistent playoffs threat even when they were obliterated possession-wise. They capitalize on their scoring chances better than anyone. Winning the Cup is one thing, but they've got to make the ECF at minimum.

 

[LightningStrikes]

IMO, they needed to trade for a Ristolainen type guy. Kucherov got pushed around by Risto big time, and ended up fighting him. Think about it. Kuch is fighting Risto. Tampa needed to add some nastiness. Risto, Zadorov, something like that. I don't know whether they are build to withstand a lot of physical play. Yes, the game has changed - but it is still much heavier in the playoffs.

We still won the game so... yeah. Killorn was ready to jump Risto but Kuch was heated up enough to take matters in his own hands. With Cernak, Paquette, Erne, Miller, Girardi, Joseph or Callahan we have enough players who can and will play the body. Physicality - or lack thereof - has never been the reason this Lightning group could not win the Stanley Cup yet.

 

[JoVel]

We still won the game so... yeah. Killorn was ready to jump Risto but Kuch was heated up enough to take matters in his own hands. With Cernak, Paquette, Erne, Miller, Girardi, Joseph or Callahan we have enough players who can and will play the body. Physicality - or lack thereof - has never been the reason this Lightning group could not win the Stanley Cup yet.

People often think we're one of the softest teams in the league but we're average at worst. Maybe it's because our gritty players aren't that well known. Guys like Paquette, Erne, Cernak and Joseph as you mentioned. And even our "soft" players have been physical in the playoffs.

 

[Chips]

What It Takes To Win A Cup:

1. Talent depth - CHECK



People think too hard on this question... only one team wins every year, most great teams lose every year. Just because a team has made the playoffs several times and hasn’t won yet doesn’t mean they “don’t have what it takes”. 90% of the time they just haven’t won yet.

To come up with a specific reason is ALWAYS oversimplifying.

 

[LeProspector]

Damn, everyone saying Tampa losing in the ECF will be considered choking....
Us Senators fans still gloat about our run to the ECF and we think that was a huge success for the franchise.
Must be nice.