Special teams key for Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning stormed back in the Eastern Conference final against the Washington Capitals, thanks in part to a thriving power play and a suddenly reliable penalty-killing unit.

To regain control of the bestof-seven matchup that continues tonight, the Caps need a lift from their special teams, too.

“The series is tied 2-2,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It doesn’t matter how you got there.”

Tampa Bay, which has taken two straight in a series in which the home team has yet to win, believes it hasn’t played its best.

Washington was dominant in winning twice on the road, then sputtered – particularly on the Alex Ovechkin-led power play – while dropping the next two games at home.

“I think we look at it realistically,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “I mean, I said to everybody in September, even yesterday, and they’re saying the same thing: Sign me up. Best-of-three, got a chance to maybe go to the Stanley Cup Final, sign me up.

“I don’t think anybody thought the series would go four straight or anything like that. There’s two really highquality teams that are going to go nose-to-nose,” Trotz added. “There’s twists and turns in the road sometimes. ... It’s just another layer of adversity. This group has taken on any adversity that has been thrown its way all year.”

Since yielding three powerplay goals in the first two games of the series, two of them in the closing seconds of a period, the Lightning have gone 7-for-7 killing penalties over the past two games.

Not bad for a team that had one of the most potent power plays (third, 23.9 per cent) in the NHL during the regular season, while also ranking among the league’s worst at killing penalties (28th, 76.1 per cent).

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has a power-play goal in each of the first four games of the conference final.

Six of his seven goals this post-season have come in manadvantage situations, including his franchise-best 11th career playoff power-play goal in Game 4 on Thursday night.

“Desperation. Realizing how important it is, especially in this series against the group that they have,” Stamkos said of the improved play on the penalty kill.”