Vincent Lecavalier

Author's Note: This is part of a five-part series detailing players who dazzled with their play and presence while lacing up the skates for the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Some are currently on the roster, while others are either no longer with the club or have retired.  The other players covered in the series are Dave Andreychuk, Martin St. Louis, Nikolai Khabibulin and Steven Stamkos.

Let's compare Game 6 of the Bruins-Lightning series to Game 7.

Game 6 was an offensive explosion by both teams with nine goals total being scored, and 10 penalties being called (only nine resulted in power plays). At the end of the first period, three goals were already scored, 2-1 to the Bruins.

Tampa Bay responded in the second and third periods thanks to Bruins penalties.

There were times during Game One when you wondered if the Tampa Bay Lightning would ever get a puck past Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury.

Lightning defenseman Eric Brewer answered that question just 2:02 into the first period as Tampa Bay steam rolled the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 to even the best-of-seven series at one game a piece.

The Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up the regular season by eliminating division rival Carolina from playoff contention with a  6-2 victory over the Hurricanes. The Bolts gaze now focuses on the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Stanley Cup Playoffs—their first appearance since 2007.

Since hiring Steve Yzerman as General Manager May 25, 2010 the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise has been slowing turning the corner into a respectable, classy and winning organization. Yzerman's long association with the Detroit Red Wings franchise, as both a player and Vice President, obviously taught him a great deal about building a winning franchise.

The Tampa Bay Lightning entered Friday night's home finale against the Florida Panthers with a chance to reach some personal and team milestones. After the 4-2 victory, they had reached those milestones.

As the NHL Playoffs draw near teams are gearing up for a shot at the Stanley Cup. No sport relies as heavily on the designation of "Captain" as hockey and especially when it is time for the playoffs.

This years top playoff contenders are not new to the pressure cooker that is the NHL playoffs, but which Captain would you rather skate into battle with?

If the playoffs were to start today these teams are in the top 10 spots for both conferences. So here we go....

With the injury depleted Montreal Canadiens pulling out a 3-2 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, they continue to inch closer toward securing a playoff spot.

Montreal's win came without the services of Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Jaroslav Spacek, Brent Sopel, Hal Gil, who was sick with the flu last night.  As well as Mathieu Darche, Max Pacioretty, Thomas Plekanec and Jeff Halpern.

Are you kidding me?

For the second time in the last month, an issue of a goaltender interference call (or no call) has cost the Tampa Bay Lightning club momentum in a home game, and, ultimately, two valuable points in the standings.

If the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to make a deep playoff run they appear to be positioning themselves for this spring, they're going to have to make more efforts like the one Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.