TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos knows about playoff heartbreak. Four years ago he and the Tampa Bay Lightning were one game, one goal, from reaching the Stanley Cup final.

It still haunts his memory now.

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“Just the draining of emotions that you go through,” Stamkos said Thursday. “Not only mentally, but physically. I remember a week later watching the Stanley Cup final and thinking how that could have been us and how we would have beat Vancouver if we were there; all of those thoughts creep into your head.

“And then you say ‘OK, we’ll get there next year.’ And then we don’t even make the playoffs for the next two years, then we get swept last year, and now we’re finally back in a similar position.”

The road to a championship is never straight and smooth.

With the playoffs now approaching their sixth week, the challenge for the four remaining teams is to leave no doubt. Whatever happens from here on out, they’ll one day be reflecting on this run and they’ll want to do so without regret.

Stamkos had a tough start to these playoffs, but has found a higher gear in the last two rounds. He was at his absolute best in a Game 3 win over New York, sending Kevin Hayes to the ice with a big hit early and getting the Lightning started on a comeback with his team’s first goal.

Offensively, he’s been in the shadows of Tampa’s dynamic triplets line, but you won’t hear a complaint out of Stamkos. He’s even embraced a recent move from centre to wing that was designed to ease the burden in his own zone.

“I just like Stammer out there,” explained Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “But the one thing I thought, he’s spending too much time in the ‘D’ zone, and he’s spending way too much energy down there. So to free him up a little bit and let him get out of the zone a little faster and not have to play the whole 200 feet, I thought was something that was going to save his legs and give him a little more time.”

Seven years into his NHL career, this is his time.

Stamkos is already an established star who has scored more goals than everyone but Alex Ovechkin since 2008. A broken leg kept him from competing for Team Canada at last year’s Sochi Olympics, so he’s chasing his first championship of any kind since becoming a pro.

When he looks around the Lightning dressing room, he sees possibility. This is the deepest group he’s ever had to play with and it’s one that can be downright scary when the top two lines are both firing, as they did in Wednesday’s 6-5 overtime victory over the Rangers.

Stamkos has five goals and 11 points in the past eight playoff games — a pretty impressive stretch given the circumstances and the fact that he was held without a shot in two of those outings.

“He could score 40 (goals) playing with me he’s that good of player,” dead-panned veteran fourth-liner Brenden Morrow.

Should Stamkos need any extra motivation, he need only look at the scarred and bruised face of his teammate. At age 37, Morrow is still chasing his first Stanley Cup — a journey that has taken him from Dallas to Pittsburgh to St. Louis to Tampa in the last three years alone.

“Since I left (the Stars) I wanted to give myself the best opportunity,” said Morrow.

Chances like this one don’t come along every year. Morrow was quick to caution that the Lightning are only up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference final — “It’s a great opportunity but we’re just one of four teams left” — and Stamkos remarked that he’s learned “anything can happen” in the playoffs.

In recent years, he’s made a point of keeping a close eye on the playoffs even after the Lightning were eliminated. Watching other players lift the Stanley Cup is something he’s tried to use as motivation.

Since his only other legitimate shot at touching that trophy, the Tampa captain has grown leaps and bounds.

“This time I’m a lot more calm and confident heading into these situations, knowing what to expect, knowing how to ultimately try to help your team by leading them,” said Stamkos. “It’s about sacrifice. It’s about work ethic. It’s about being willing to do anything to help your team win.”

Six wins away. So close, yet still so far.