TAMPA
Nikita Kucherov took a pass near the Lightning blue line and blazed through the neutral zone. • It took less than two seconds — roughly five strides — for the wing to reach the Rangers' blue line and fearlessly confront a one-on-two. By then, defensemen Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh were retreating, respecting Kucherov's speed. • That gave Kucherov just enough space to slide between the circles and rip a wrist shot between the defensemen and past goalie Henrik Lundqvist to lift Tampa Bay to a 6-5 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final. • "When you watch other games, you don't see that (kind of) speed that causes teams to back up," said Dave Andreychuk, captain of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team. "Speed kills, and it's working." • Said coach Jon Cooper: "It's Lightning fast." • The Lightning's blend of speed and skill makes for not only a scintillating style. It is also a key reason the Lightning has reached the Stanley Cup final against the Blackhawks, with Game 1 Wednesday at Amalie Arena. The Cup final features two of the fastest teams in the NHL, the Lightning leading the way in what could be an old-fashioned drag race. • "It's just such an easy group to fall in love with," veteran Lightning wing Brenden Morrow said of his team. "Young and energetic, playing a style that's entertaining. It's pretty easy for fans to get behind them."
But Darren Pang, a former goalie and current TV analyst, said anyone who thinks the Lightning is just a run-and-gun team is "sadly mistaken," because there's a method and structure to how it plays. "They have not reinvented the wheel," Pang said. "They're just systematically very good."
Still, the Lightning's quickness, in skating and passing, often has opponents' heads spinning.
"It's a big challenge," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "It's the fastest team we've met this year, and not just when they have the puck, but when they don't have it, they are quick to put pressure. You have to have your head up. You've got to be thinking a play ahead, and you've got to make the right plays."
NBC color commentator Eddie Olczyk, a former wing and coach, said it all starts with smooth-skating Lightning defensemen Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, who fuel the rush and "ignite the speed part of their game."
"If you're playing a real fast team, they'll be on the forecheck, and if you can make those plays, there's going to be a wide range between the first set of forwards and defensemen," Olczyk said. "It's skill level, it's strength in numbers, it's support.
"When the Lightning are going, when they're playing their game, it's not a lot of one-on-one. What makes them so good … they make a lot of support in numbers and isolate. The more two-on-one, three-on-two, the better it is."
When teams have had success against the Lightning, like the Red Wings in the first round, they have clogged up the neutral zone, clutched and grabbed, and taken away time and space. Detroit frustrated Tampa Bay, which fell into the trap of trying to stickhandle through the middle and attempt too many cute passes.
"(The Lightning scores) a lot of their goals off the rush," Rangers wing Carl Hagelin said. "If you're on the right side of your checks, it's going to be harder for them. They move the puck to the right, and if you look where the puck is going, new guys can jump on you."
TV analyst Craig Button said the Lightning creates confusion in the neutral zone and offensive zone by its quick feet and thinking, bringing waves of support. You saw that in Tampa Bay's second goal in Friday's 2-0 victory over the Rangers in Game 7. Ondrej Palat rushed up the left side to trail on a rush, beat Rangers wing Kevin Hayes to the offensive zone and converted a pass from Tyler Johnson, who was flying in on the right.
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Explore all your options"They create multiple points of attack," Button said. "That's how they work the goaltender. Now the goaltender is on the left post, he's thinking, 'What's to my right?' What's in the middle? I've got to move here.' They can come back to the other side."
Just ask Henrik Lundqvist, the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner as the league's top goalie, who seemed befuddled by the Lightning in the series after allowing six goals in back-to-back games for just the second time in his career.
"It's really challenging for me the way they move the puck," Lundqvist said. "The way they find open ice in the slot and scoring chances right in front."
Morrow said he has never been on a team this fast from top to bottom.
"With that speed, you've always got to be aware of the defensemen," he said. "We like to have our team jump up and be part of the play offensively. But when other teams do that to us, they're risking opening themselves up to our speed and (us) going the other way. It's a tough team to defend."