You want to know the Lightning's secret to success over the past three years? It's quite simple.
Don't, under any circumstances, lose back-to-back games. You do that and boom -- you have a couple of Stanley Cup rings on your fingers and you're still alive for a chance at a third.
Tampa Bay has yet to lose two consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2022 playoffs. It's been able to respond every time it's taken a loss, which is a big factor in why the Lightning are in the conference finals this year and going for a three-peat.
That streak will be put on the line yet again after the Lightning came out flat in Game 1 against the Rangers on Wednesday, falling 6-2 in the first game of the Eastern Conference Final.
"We certainly didn’t have our best," captain Steven Stamkos said after the loss. "We have to respond. We’ve been in this position before. I’m confident our group is going to have a much better effort next game. We are going to bounce back."
There's certainly a reason for the group to have confidence in their ability to shake off a loss. The team already has done it three times during these playoffs. After falling behind in the series 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 to the Maple Leafs in the first round, the Lightning regrouped and earned a victory the next time out every time.
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Now, the Lightning need to continue their pattern of bounce back performances. Otherwise, they will fall down in a series 0-2 for the first time since getting swept by the Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2019 postseason.
Here is a look at some key numbers for Tampa Bay coming off a loss in the last three postseasons.
17-0
It's impressive enough to hear that Tampa Bay has not lost back-to-back games over the past three postseasons, but seeing a 17-0 record coming off a loss really puts it in perspective.
The Lightning would improve to 18-0 tonight in games after a loss during the past three postseasons if they are able to come out of Madison Square Garden with a Game 2 victory.
1.47
So, what's the key to their bounce backs? Well, locking up on defense is a big component of it.
In those 17 games, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning defense are allowing 1.47 goals per game. Compare that to what they average in the rest of the playoffs. This year, they have a GAA of 2.75; in 2021, they allowed 1.96 goals per game; and in '20, it was 2.28.
The team tightens up in their own zone and limits the number of chances given up. In those 17 contests, they allowed four goals once, three goals four times, and the rest were all two goals or less.
3.94
It's not just the defense either. Offensively, the Lightning have responded very well after a defeat.
In those following contests after a loss, Tampa Bay has averaged 3.94 goals per game since the 2020 playoffs. Similarly to their goals given up rate, that's an improvement from each of their averages in those postseasons. In 2020, they were scoring at a rate of 3.08 goals per game; in '21 it was 3.26; and this season, it's 3.17.
During these playoffs specifically, their answer offensively has been impressive. In the three wins following a loss against the Maple Leafs in the first round, the Lightning scored five, seven, and four goals, respectively, during the trio of matches.
5
It's one thing to show up and win the next game. It's another to blank your opponent on the scoreboard.
It hasn't happened yet in these playoffs, but Vasilevskiy has shut out opponents five times in the past three postseasons coming off a loss.
During the 2020 playoffs, Vasilevskiy recorded just one shutout, but it came at the biggest moment. After the Stars had stayed alive with a Game 5 win in the Stanley Cup Final, Vasilevskiy and Tampa Bay shut out Dallas in Game 6 to seal the series win and earn the Stanley Cup. The Russian turned aside all 22 shots he saw en route to the win.
Last year, he accomplished that feat four times. In the division semifinals against the Panthers, Vasilevskiy bounced back after a 4-1 loss in Game 5 by posting a 29-save shutout in Game 6, sending the Lightning to the next round.
In the Stanley Cup Semifinals, twice the Islanders went into a game coming off a win and failed to get a single shot by the Big Cat. The Lightning thumped the Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead and after New York tied the series with a Game 6 win, Vasilevskiy turned aside all 18 shots he saw in a 1-0 win in Game 7.
Finally, after dropping Game 4 during the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning earned a 1-0 victory in Game 5 to clinch the Stanley Cup over the Canadiens. Vasilevskiy recorded his fifth-consecutive series-clinching shutout dating back to the 2020 playoffs and was given the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
