Lightning Feeds on the Past

Jassen Cullimore will never forget the days when the Tampa Bay Lightning was the laughingstock of the NHL. The memories make the club’s first trip to the Stanley Cup finals that much sweeter.

“If you would have asked me back then if we would ever be in this situation I would have told you you’re crazy,” the defenseman said. “Those were some rough times.”

When Cullimore was claimed off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens in January 1998, Tampa Bay was in the middle of the first of four consecutive seasons in which the club lost at least 50 games.

Three years removed from that league-record stretch of futility, the Lightning is Eastern Conference champion and plays the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals at home Tuesday night.

“I am not going to lie to you. There’s no chance we thought this would be happening so quick,” Coach John Tortorella said.

“We are fortunate. I am so happy for the guys. I am happy the way they did it. I think that was the most important thing ... not going in the back door. I think they knocked down the front door and just charged.”

After squandering an opportunity to eliminate Philadelphia in Game 6 of the conference finals, the Lightning rebounded to beat the Flyers, 2-1, in Game 7 on Saturday night.

A sign in the Tampa Bay locker room reads “Safe Is Death” and Tortorella reminded the players between the second and third periods that they needed to remain aggressive to stay on top of the Flyers.

“We learned that no matter, win or lose, you don’t want to go out there in the third period and play back on your heels. That’s what happened in Philly,” said center Brad Richards, who had assists on Tampa Bay’s goals.

“You can live with yourself if you try to win a game. We didn’t try to win a game and they took it to us [in Game 6].”

The Lightning is in the Cup finals for the first time in only the third playoff appearance in the franchise’s 12-year history.

Captain Dave Andreychuk has waited nearly twice as long for the opportunity.

Andreychuk, 40, is in his 22nd season and has played more regular-season games (1,597) than any other active player without stepping on the ice in the league’s championship series.

The Flames have been mostly invisible since last winning the Cup in 1989, missing the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons until this one. Attendance declined so dramatically that the Saddledome’s uppermost seats were covered with tarps, and boosters held bake sales, raffles and bingo games to help sell 13,000 season tickets and prevent the team from moving.

Jarome Iginla has been the centerpiece of the Flames’ resurgence, scoring 41 goals in the regular season and 10 in the playoffs.

The Lightning beat the Flames, 6-2, in the only regular-season meeting between the two, although that was four months ago, when few imagined Tampa Bay or Calgary would advance this far.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

* Series preview: Calgary defeated Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose to become the first NHL team to eliminate three teams that had 100 points or more during the regular season.

Tampa Bay becomes the third expansion team from the 1990s to reach the finals (after Florida and the Ducks) and is looking to be the first to win the Stanley Cup. Both teams showed intestinal fortitude during the conference finals.

Calgary had a 2-0 series lead evaporate against San Jose, and Tampa Bay gutted out a Game 7 victory over Philadelphia.

Tampa Bay has more raw talent. Martin St. Louis, a former Flame, is a Hart Trophy finalist. He has been an exceptional playmaker in the playoffs. Fredrik Modin, Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards are all dangerous.

Ruslan Fedotenko sizzled against the Flyers, his former team, with six goals in the seven-game series. Nikolai Khabibulin is the first Russian goaltender to take his team to the Stanley Cup finals. Except for a couple glitches, he has been the best goalie in the playoffs.

Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk, appearing in the finals for the first time in his 22-season career, is trying to remove his name from the trivia list. He has played more NHL games (1,752) without winning the Cup than any player.

What Calgary lacks in raw talent it makes up for in sheer will. The Flames, who are trying to become the first Canadian team to win the Cup since Montreal in 1993, have out-worked every team they have faced.

Miikka Kiprusoff, acquired from San Jose in November, has shown he has the skills to be a No. 1 goaltender. He is a perfect fit behind Calgary’s gritty defense.

Jarome Iginla is fulfilling all the predictions that he is the next great NHL player. He has not only scored goals during the playoffs, but demonstrated leadership skills, particularly with his physical play in the San Jose series.

Jordan Leopold, a one-time Duck property, is emerging as a quality defenseman at only 23. He and Mike Commodore, another former Duck, are big reasons the Flames have been able to survive without injured defensemen Denis Gauthier and Toni Lydman.

* Key injuries: TB: None. CAL: D Gauthier (lower body); D Lydman (upper body); C Dean McAmmond (back); C Steven Reinprecht (left shoulder).

* Goaltenders: TB: Khabibulin (12-4, .939); CAL: Kiprusoff (12-7, .930).

* Top scorers: TB: St. Louis, 5 goals, 13 assists; Richards, 8 goals, 9 assists; Modin, 7 goals, 9 assists. CAL: Iginla 10 goals, 7 assists; Craig Conroy, 5 goals, 10 assists; Martin Gelinas, 6 goals, 7 assists.

* Prediction: With a lockout looming, these might be the last NHL games for a while. Fittingly, the Stanley Cup will go back to its native Canada. Calgary in six games.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

*--* MATCHUPS Category Calgary Tampa Bay Goals For 200 (19) 245 (3) Goals Against 176 (3) 192 (11) Power Play Percentage 15.1 (21) 16.2 (16) Penalty Kill Percentage 84.6 (13) 84.8 (10) Faceoff Percentage 50.7 (12) 50 (16) (League ranking)

*--*

-- Chris Foster