Tampa Bay Lightning Tickets

Tampa Bay Lightning 2011 Playoffs Preview The Tampa Bay Lightning pushed the Washington Capitals hard for much of the season before eventually bowing out in the fight for the Southeastern Conference title. Nonetheless, they still managed to slip into the Eastern Conference playoffs as the fifth seed, setting up an interesting first-round showdown with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Considering their seed, this is a favorable draw for the Lightning. The Penguins are no pushover, but they are ripe for the picking with both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out for the season with injuries.

Anytime you can square off against a team without their top two scoring stars, you have to like your chances.

However, Pittsburgh has become an even tougher team on both ends of the ice since losing their two stars, and that will be a challenge for the Lightning. Tampa Bay is not a physical team, so they need to try and play at a fast pace to avoid a more defensive-minded series.

The Lightning boast one of the more dynamic offensive attacks in the league, so it will be fun to watch them match up against Pittsburgh's formidable defensive units. They also have to feel good about Pittsburgh's low success rate on the power play.

This will be one of the more entertaining first-round matchups even if both of these teams really don't have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. The contrast in styles provides plenty of intrigue, and it will be interesting to see which one wins out.