Lightning can advance to Stanley Cup Final with win tonight

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Matt Carle remembers going into Game 6 at Amalie Arena last year in the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers with an overwhelming sense of confidence.

The Lightning had just take control of the series by virtue of their 2-0 shutout victory in Game 5 at the Rangers’ Madison Square Garden. They had the opportunity to close out the series in Game 6 and advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2004. They would have their home crowd behind them, providing the necessary energy to lift them past a Rangers team facing an elimination game.

“We got thumped pretty good in that game,” Carle recalls.

The Lightning fell behind 2-0 and 5-1 before eventually falling 7-3 to the Rangers, forcing a Game 7 at MSG, where New York had never lost a Game 7. The Bolts rebounded from their failure in Game 6, blanking the Rangers 2-0 three days later to win the Eastern Conference championship.

But the lesson from that lost opportunity in Game 6 was learned.

“You just don’t want to take anything for granted,” Carle said. “I think we probably did that a little bit last year.”

The Lightning face the exact same scenario in Game 6 tonight versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. After taking home-ice advantage away from the Penguins by rallying in Game 5 to win 4-3 in overtime at Consol Energy Center, the Bolts have a chance to close out the Eastern Conference Final at home in and go back to the Stanley Cup Final for a second-straight season.

They plan to be a much more focused group tonight than they were a year ago.

“I think we’ve drawn on our experiences as a team from our run last year and tonight we’ll need to …

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