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“I remember his first training camp with us last year. It’s pretty magical what he can do with the puck,” Tyler Johnson said. “You can tell he’s been working with (Pavel) Datsyuk pretty much all his entire career. For him to come over here and kind of teach us the little things about puck control, how you can slow down the tempo of the game a bit and play his style, I think a lot of guys learned from that.”

While Filppula has been pushed down in the pecking order by players such as Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Killorn, his defensive play still has given the Lightning value.

The two-way centre, who learned how to play the right way from Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg under coach Mike Babcock, allowed a struggling Stamkos to move over to the wing in these playoffs. And whether it is taking an important faceoff (his 52.8 per cent success rate is second only to Jonathan Toews’ 55.2 per cent), killing a penalty or protecting a lead in the final minute of a one-goal game, Filppula has Cooper’s trust in big moments.

“You look at the minutes and the situations he plays for us,” Cooper said. “He kills penalties, he takes the big draws, he plays in the power play, he plays in our top six. That goes down as one of those sneaky signings that people have already probably forgotten about.”

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It is easy to forget about the signing, because it is sometimes easy to forget that Filppula is even on the team. The Lightning have relied on five forwards (Johnson, Kucherov, Palat, Stamkos and Killorn) for 73 per cent of the offence in the playoffs; Filppula has only three goals and 13 points in 24 games despite playing between Stamkos and Killorn.

But Stamkos said having Filppula as the defensive conscience on the line allows Killorn and himself more freedom in the offensive zone. “We brought him in here to be that, and he’s been great for us,” Stamkos said. “You have to be responsible and he’s that guy.”

Off the ice, Filppula has been just as a calming influence for a young team still finding its way. “After a loss or a win he kind of keeps guys stable,” Killorn said.

“He is the guy that has won a Cup,” Cooper said. “He’s often spoken to our team about the preparation and things that go into it. I don’t know where we’d be without him.”

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