After their overtime loss in Game 4 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, it looked like the Tampa Bay Lightning were dead in the water. They couldn't score like they did in the regular season and Dwayne Roloson was good, but just not great enough to steal things for them.
But then, suddenly in Game 5, the Lightning turned up the heat. Steven Stamkos and Simon Gagne each scored multiple goals, their first bits of offensive impact in the series, and Tampa cruised to a giant 8-2 victory over Pittsburgh at CONSOL Energy Center.
And then in Game 6, with their backs against the wall once more, the Bolts continued the trend of quiet scorers getting on the board, as Steve Downie and Ryan Malone each scored a goal apiece. Guy Boucher said after Game 6 that there's no extra pressure heading into Game 7 because the team has already played in two pivotal elimination games.
If you're the Penguins, you have to be worried about the Lightning attack. When all of their scorers are going, it's hard to corral them, and since you can't match them offensively with your big guns still out of the lineup, the counter-attack is difficult. It's going to take a lot of desperation for the Pens to match what the Lightning have brought in the last two games.
For more on this Game 7, check in with our blogs: Pensburgh on the Pens and Raw Charge on the Bolts.