Lightning Dominate Panthers Without Key Playoff Performer

The Tampa Bay Lightning completed the four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy winning Florida Panthers as the curse of the team with the most points continues. Only once since 2014 has the NHL's leader in points made it out of the second round.

It was unfortunate that the Panthers had to go up against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in the Lightning as they know what it takes in the clutch. The second-round series wasn't looking so hot for the Lightning after Brayden Point was injured in Game 7 of Round 1 while some of their stars were showing fatigue and not playing up to their standards.

One consistent over the past few postseasons has been Point. He has led the team in goals in each of their Cup runs with 14 both seasons and has scored 10 more goals than the next closest player on their team during that span.

The TNT panel said Point has been arguably the Lightning's top playoff performer next to Andrei Vasilevskiy over the past three seasons. Goals are harder to come by than assists, and only Nikita Kucherov has more points than Point. He hasn't had the privilege of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy because of Victor Hedman and Vasilevskiy, but without Point, they don't win both Cups.

The Lightning are well on their way to winning their third consecutive Stanley Cup as they are the first team to advance to the third round and await the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers series. If any team is going to three-beat for the first time since the New York Islanders in the early 1980s, it is going to be this Lightning team with the amazing core.