Stamkos knows window to win won’t always be open
TAMPA— As you go through life, it is not the successes that stick with you the most. Often, it is the failures. Ask Steven Stamkos what he remembers about his past playoff experience and he does not talk about big goals he scored or when the Tampa Bay Lightning rolled past Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on their way to the 2011 Eastern Conference Final.
No, he brings up the 1-0 Game 7 loss to Boston and how close he came to playing for the Stanley Cup. And ultimately, how far away he actually was.
“I remember a week later watching the Stanley Cup Final thinking that could have been us,” Stamkos said, “how we would have beat Vancouver if we were there. All those thoughts creep into your head. And then you say, ‘OK, we’ll get there next year’ and we don’t even make the playoffs for the next two years. And then we get swept last year.” At 25, Stamkos is still young. But, as he joked, he no longer seems that young anymore.
He has seen things in his seven seasons in the NHL.
He’s had his leg shattered, said goodbye to longtime teammates and had plenty of coaches come and go. He’s played nearly 500 regular season games and won two goalscoring titles. But Stamkos has also watched with pangs of regret as his peers — Drew Doughty and Tyler Seguin among them — have captured the only hardware that really matters to him.
“It’s extremely tough. I haven’t been to a final in seven years,” he said. “That’s a burning desire to get there.”
A big part of Stamkos believes this is his time to win. The Lightning have a team that is still growing and getting better. But that close call in 2011 is a nice reminder that the window of opportunity can slam shut in a hurry.
You never know what is going to happen, he said.
Last year, the Lightning seemed poised for a long playoff run. But goaltender Ben Bishop got hurt and Stamkos never fully recovered from a broken leg and they were bounced in the first round.
This year, everything seems to be falling into place.
This is the most talented and deepest roster that he has played with.
While Stamkos led the Lightning with 43 goals and 72 points, the emergence of the Triplets’ line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat means that the twotime Rocket Richard Trophy winner does not have to always score goals for the team to have success.
Stamkos might have gone without a goal in a first-round series against Detroit, but since then the Lightning captain has five goals and 11 points in nine games.
Part of his success lately has been a move from centre to the wing on a line with Valtteri Filppula and Alex Killorn.
But the bigger part is his experience is paying off.
“As much as you want to think you know what playoffs are like, you really have to go through it,” said Stamkos. “It’s about sacrifice. It’s about work ethic.”
In a 6-5 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, Stamkos led in every way imaginable. He had a goal and an assist, blocked a team-high three shots and also finished with a game-high seven hits.
“It’s just showing his commitment level,” said coach Jon Cooper.
“He wears the ‘C’ and when your leaders are doing that, it’s easy to follow.”
For Stamkos, it is about leaving it all out there. You do not want to wait another four years for a chance that may or may not come again.
“You have to try to take advantage of the opportunity when you have it,” said Stamkos, “because it’s so hard to get here.”