The Tampa Bay Lightning will kick off the 2016 Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins on at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

The Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in a rather comfortable position as they continued on their postseason journey. The Lightning had the pleasure of finishing off both their first round series against the Detroit Red Wings and their second round series against the New York Islanders in just five games each.

This would allow the Lightning the opportunity to not only heal up a little bit and attempt to get some of their injured players back in the lineup, but it gave the Bolts an opportunity to sit back and survey their potential opponents in the Eastern Conference Final.

The only question that remained was which team the Lightning would take on as they embarked on the next stage of their postseason journey. It was a long and hard-fought battle between captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins and captain Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. When the goal horn sounded to end the overtime period, it would be the Pittsburgh Penguins who would advance to the next round.

This means as the defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning head into their second straight visit to the Eastern Conference Final, they will go head to head with the Pittsburgh Penguins. There is no denying this is going to be the series to watch this postseason. There some glaring similarities between these two teams, especially when it comes to their speed.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in all three meetings they had during the regular season. Unfortunately, as we all know, there is a rather large difference between the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The time for excuses is over, and both teams will have to leave it all out on the ice if they want to emerge victoriously and move on to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

There is one question remaining. When do the Tampa Bay Lightning get down to business against the Pittsburgh Penguins? This is an excellent question. Thankfully, we have an answer for you. The Tampa Bay Lightning will charge into the Consol Energy Center for Game 1 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Final on Friday, May 13th at 8:00 p.m.

Here is a closer look at the upcoming schedule for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins as they battle it out of the ice for Eastern Conference supremacy and the chance to defend the Eastern Conference in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

Date Visitor Home Time TV Listing Fri., May 13th Lightning Penguins 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS Mon., May 16th Lightning Penguins 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS Weds., May 18th Penguins Lightning 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS Fri., May 20th Penguins Lightning 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS Sun., May 22nd Lightning Penguins 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS Tues., May 24th Penguins Lightning 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS Thurs., May 26th Lightning Penguins 8:00 p.m. NBC Sports, CBC, TVAS

As we mentioned before, this is going to be an interesting series to watch. Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins have quite a few dangerous goal scorers and both teams have a lot of speed in their stride. If there is anything we can assure you about the Eastern Conference Final is you will never be bored.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have built a foundation of being able to overcome all manner of adversity you put in their way. Last season, this young team had a taste of what is means to play for the greatest trophy in all sports. The pain of losing to the Chicago Blackhawks and failing to achieve their dream has done nothing but fuel the fire in their souls to taste that same sweetness of victory once again.