One of them -- their opponent in the Eastern Conference Final -- was determined Saturday when the New York Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 in Game 7 to advance.
Others remained.
How rusty will the Lightning be in Game 1 on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) after not having played since Aug. 31?
And when, if at all, will forward Steven Stamkos be healthy enough to return after missing all of the Stanley Cup Playoffs thus far because of a lower-body injury?
Lightning coach Jon Cooper might not have had all the answers, but said at least there was consolation in his team leaving Toronto, the Eastern hub, for Edmonton, the Western hub, where the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final will be played at Rogers Place.
"I got to throw out about six itineraries, so that was good," Cooper said Friday. "It's weird because, what is this, Day 40 in our hotel, so it's been our home, and now we understand we have a date we're actually leaving. We talked about that today because it's basically been our home. I think it's going to be weird. Even practicing today and leaving the practice arena, we've been there basically five days a week. I don't know, you get a little nostalgic here even though it's been only 40 days."
The Lightning have resided in Hotel X, part of the Toronto bubble, since July 27. Cooper said he hopes the change of scenery will refresh the players.
"We're looking forward to moving on because moving on means we've advanced and we're doing something right," he said. "And with the new surroundings, I think it will be a reset for us. I think that's going to help with our mental makeup going into Game 1."
Because the next best-of-7 series will not start until Monday, the No. 2 seed Lightning will have a full week between games. Their last game was last Monday, a 3-2 win in double overtime to give them a five-game second-round victory against the Boston Bruins.
Though Cooper said he is appreciative of the time off that has given some of his banged-up players time to heal, he said he's uncertain how Tampa Bay will come out in Game 1 against New York, the No. 6 seed.
"We've talked a lot about it," he said. "But there's no hiding the fact that we're going to go a week between games. To replicate the intensity that we had the two previous series, it's hard to do. You're definitely not going to do that in practice.
"We've just got to depend on the mental side for us. We know that once you get this far, there's only going to be four teams left. Not only can't you take games off, you can't take shifts off. The first game of a new series, the first few shifts, you've got to make sure your guys are into it."
Easier said than done, forward Alex Killorn said.
"In practice, by imitating gamelike situations is the only way you can kind of stay ready," Killorn said. "You want to make sure in these days you get your rest just because that's definitely an advantage over teams that are playing. But you also don't want to lose that edge going forward, that edge that you had when you were playing every other day."
Stamkos has not played at all this postseason. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois told The Athletic on Tuesday a return by the Tampa Bay captain
has not been ruled out
, but offered no further details.
Cooper said a status report on Stamkos will be provided in the next few days.
Stamkos last played since Feb. 25; he had core muscle surgery March 2 before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and was injured before training camp began on July 13.
"It's frustrating, no doubt, but I think this year's team, it's a close group. A really close group," Cooper said. "Everybody wants him to play, he wants to play but it's just ... As I said before, before the series starts I'll give an update on Steven.
"Everybody gets caught up in the collective momentum of doing things and everybody's pushing each other and he's just a big supporter of our group as anybody. It's good to see."
