The Tampa Bay Lightning have the chance to make some remarkable NHL history this season, should they manage to run the table en route to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals victory. No team in the history of the league has achieved the remarkable feat, and it's easy to see why. Still, the Lightning have a real chance at pulling off the previously unattainable, and the whole team will be locked in knowing exactly what's at stake.

Tampa Bay is set for a first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The matchup won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. They'll be up against the league's top goalscorer in Auston Matthews, who could potentially win the Hart Trophy, as well as his elite linemate in Mitch Marner. Those two will keep the likes of Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh busy throughout the series.

The Lightning boast their own offensive prowess, too, and will look to ride the hot hand of Steven Stamkos to victory against Toronto. With Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point both capable of changing the game with a single shot on net, it's hard to count Tampa Bay out for even a minute.

With all that in mind, here are three reasons the Lightning will win the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup and complete the historic three-peat.

3 Reasons Lightning Will Win 2022 Stanley Cup

3. Playoff Experience

The Lightning are far from the only experienced team in this year's playoffs, but no other team can say they're back-to-back reigning Stanley Cup champs. While Tampa didn't have quite as dominant a season as they did in the previous two years, they're more than capable of making a deep run in the playoffs. Point, Stamkos, and Kucherov will look to lead the charge offensively and get some goals on the board for Tampa, who will be defending against some of the staunchest offenses in the NHL.

Any hockey fan can tell you that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a completely different beast than the 82-game regular season. Intensity rises to new heights and it's crucial for players to be at their best. This is where Tampa's playoff experience will truly come in handy, as they've proven in the past to be capable of rising up to the challenge when the stakes are raised.

2. Top-Tier Defense And Goaltending

Tampa Bay's defense was one of the sturdiest in the league this year, surrendering just 233 goals. That helped the Lightning rack up an impressive +54 goal differential throughout the season, during which they finished with 110 points. The three-headed monster of Kucherov, Stamkos, and Point take home most of the headlines for the Lightning's success, but a lot of the credit must be attributed to the defense.

Hedman, McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev, and Jan Rutta will be critical towards the Lightning's chances of advancing deep into the playoffs. Of course, the play between the sticks from Andrei Vasilevsky will also be crucial for Tampa's success. With Hedman coming off a senational season in 2021-22, in which he scored 20 goals and was Tampa Bay's second-leading point-scorer with 85, he'll play a pivotal role in Tampa's run through the playoffs.

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1. Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov Are On Fire

There's hardly a hockey player on the planet in better form right now than Stamkos. The Lightning's captain has been playing some of the best hockey of his career of late, which is a massive statement in its own right. In just 16 games in the month of April, Stamkos registered an insane 33 points. He entered the month with 73 points under his belt, and miraculuously finshed the season as one of eight players to surpass the 100+ point threshold.

Stamkos scored 12 goals and distributed 21 assists across his 16 games, averaging an incredible 2.06 points per game. That led all skaters in the NHL, and coming in second was none other than Stamkos' linemate in Kucherov, who had an insane month in his own right with 31 points off of 14 goals and 17 assists. With these two playing at an unreal level right now, defenders will have an incredibly difficult time trying to sustain them in their quest for a three-peat.