First, the reunited dynamic duo of Ian Mendes and Hailey Salvian welcome The Athletic’s Joe Smith to the show to talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning once again returning to the Stanley Cup Final, the turning point of their Eastern Conference Final matchup against the New York Rangers, Andrei Vasilevskiy maintaining his mental and physical health over the last several playoff runs, Brayden Point’s injury status, Steven Stamkos leading the way offensively, and more.

Then, Ian and Hailey discuss if the Lightning’s road to the Final was the toughest for any team in history, putting an end to the “don’t touch the conference championship trophy!” thing, John Tortorella as the likely frontrunner for the Philadelphia Flyers head coaching job, and potential Johnny Gaudreau landing spots exactly a month away from free agency.

Plus, to close things out, a couple of Multiple Choice Madness questions about whether the Tampa Bay Lightning should be considered the best team of the salary cap era, regardless of the outcome of this year’s Final, and which team, the Edmonton Oilers or New York Rangers, has a better chance of returning to the Conference Final next season.

And, right now, you can get a 6 month subscription to The Athletic for just $1 a month when you visit http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow
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