Eastern Conference finals preview: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

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Better buckle up for what should be a track meet of a series between two of the speediest, most skilled teams around. The Lightning will come in slightly more rested, having dumped both the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Islanders each in five games. The Penguins are coming off an emotional roller coaster of a series with the archrival  Washington Capitals that went six games and featured three overtime games and plenty of nastiness before the Penguins prevailed.

How they win

Pittsburgh: Basically, if the Penguins keep doing what they're doing -- which is use their speed and skill to force opponents into backing off, thus allowing easy penetration of the offensive zone -- I'm not sure there's a team that can beat them over seven games. Pittsburgh, the top offensive team in the playoffs, is averaging 3.36 goals per game and rolling out four lines with legitimate scoring punch. A defense that was considered a flaw in the team's design has been, for the most part, excellent behind Kris Letang and Trevor Daley. In fact, Letang is having a Conn Smythe-worthy postseason. Olli Maatta returned to the lineup in Game 6 after missing three games thanks to a nasty hit from  Brooks Orpik. In all, 15 Penguins have scored this spring, which is pretty incredible. The line of Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino, all new to the Pens within the last year, was dynamite in the Capitals series and single-handedly delivered the Game 6 overtime series clincher.