ELMONT, N.Y. — Championship teams aren’t remembered for how they play in Game 82. In fact, the Lightning lost their final regular-season game before both of their back-to-back Stanley Cup runs.
Legacies are built by what teams do after the regular season ends, when the pressure builds. But that didn’t mean that the Lightning’s regular-season finale Friday night against the Islanders wasn’t extremely important.
The Lightning had some incredible postseason battles with the Islanders the past two offseasons, and a season-ending date with New York seemed to be just what Tampa Bay needed to ramp up its intensity.
