Lightning confident, focused entering Eastern Conference Final

Perhaps it's the fact they've reached this stage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times in the last four seasons.
Or maybe it's the 1,332 games of playoff experience on the roster.
Could also be a result of the way they dispatched their first two playoff opponents, including a Boston team regarded as a legitimate Cup contender, in just 10 games total.
Whatever the reason, as the Tampa Bay Lightning prepare for Friday's Eastern Conference Final opener against the Washington Capitals at AMALIE Arena, there's a quiet calmness that surrounds the Bolts.

They know the task at hand. They've won eight games in their quest for the Stanley Cup.
There are still eight more victories to go.

"Our mission's always the same. What's different now is that nothing's coming out of left field really," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Thursday following his team's practice session at AMALIE Arena. "We just kind of know to expect it now. Especially in 2015, the farther you advance and the media scrums get bigger and there's more people around and you look outside and now this isn't the only room, there's media tables everywhere and the big joke is, 'What is there an event coming here soon?' Where I think it would have been a lot more eye-opening a few years ago where it's really not anymore. We know what's coming. We know the questions that are going to be asked about you. It's just a whole different feel just because we've been there and that's a good thing because having all the distractions takes away from what your focus and what the plan and when you can eliminate those distractions or at least know what's coming ahead of time, we think that's a good thing for us.
"I guess that's called experience."
The Lightning have plenty of experience with deep postseason runs of late, and they're the only team remaining this postseason that has a Stanley Cup on its resume. It's Tampa Bay that is the battle-tested, playoff-veteran group of the 2018 Playoffs, a far cry from three seasons ago when they were the wide-eyed newcomers just happy to be there.
"I think what we know is we haven't accomplished what we want to accomplish yet," Lightning defenseman and Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman said. "We're a step in the right way. We've won two series and have two more to go. For us it's focus on the game tomorrow and getting the job done. We're excited. We're very excited to be in this position. But it's just one step in the road of where we want to be."

Maybe there's also the sense that this is Tampa Bay's best opportunity to win a Stanley Cup. The Lightning are playing better right now than at any point during its playoff runs in 2015 and 2016. They have four lines that are balanced, offensively gifted and defensively responsible. The defensive corps is deeper than ever with three established pairings playing mistake-free hockey right now. And the goaltending is led by Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy, who only set Lightning franchise records for wins (44), shutouts (8) and saves (1,908) during the regular season and is on a career-best four-game playoff win streak.
"The depth we have up front has been remarkable all year," Hedman said. "We've got four lines that can play physical, four lines that can score goals and four lines that can defend. Top to bottom, it's been a great year, guys stepping up at different times and making big plays. I've been on some really, really good teams here in Tampa, but this one is obviously right up there."
No doubt, Washington will provide the Lightning with their stiffest yet this postseason. The Capitals are coming off a cathartic Second Round victory over playoff nemesis Pittsburgh to reach the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1998. The Capitals have never won a Stanley Cup and would like nothing more to erase that dubious stat.
The belief in the Lightning locker room, however, is that if they continue to play the game the right way, continue to do the things that made them successful in the first two rounds against New Jersey and Boston and, as Cooper said, challenge themselves to elevate their game "another five percent" as the stakes grow higher, the Bolts will put themselves in prime position to achieve their ultimate goal.
"When you get here, you're obviously playing on top of your game when you get this far in the playoffs and this group, we've had a belief in this room since day one," Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "Nothing's changed now. We know that we're getting a very good opponent in Washington that's played really well, beat some good teams to get where they are. We've been in this situation before with this group of guys and definitely comfortable. We know what has worked and what hasn't so far and we'll look to continue the success we've had, especially on home ice."