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One of those weird, unexplainable trends has the Tampa Bay Lightning winners of all six playoff games they’ve ever played in the Washington Capitals’ home rink.

But their good fortune at Capital One Arena is not why they stirred to life in this Eastern Conference final with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday.

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No, that was more to do with Steven Stamkos, one of the great leaders in the NHL who doesn’t get the credit he deserves as such.

Stamkos is a 28-year old with injury history and a contact that carries an $8.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2023-24 season, and it still doesn’t seem enough. He was great when he scored 42 goals and 92 points as a 16-year old with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, and he’ll be great for years to come.

By the look in his eyes as he sat waiting for the anthems before Tuesday’s game, you could tell Stamkos wasn’t ready to go meekly into the night. And he wasn’t going to let the Lightning fall behind 3-0 either.