• Lightning eye third consecutive Stanley Cup.
• Tampa Bay and Colorado will face in game 1 on June 15.
• Colorado entered the Finals after finishing the season with a 56-19 record.

In Wednesday’s opening game of the NHL championship series against the Colorado Avalanche, the Tampa Bay Lightning seek a rare hat-trick of Stanley Cup championships.

The Lightning could become the first team to win three consecutive Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders accomplished the feat in four consecutive seasons from 1980 to 1983.

Read more: Tampa Bay Lightning advances to Stanley Cup Finals for third time

Despite the fact that Tampa Bay won the championship in 2020 and 2021, Colorado enters the best-of-seven series as slight favorites after finishing the regular season with a 56-19 record and seven OT losses compared to Tampa Bay’s 51-23-8 mark.

Tampa Bay, on the other hand, have a winning background and have consistently improved throughout the postseason, as evidenced by their return to the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday to secure a 4-2 series victory.

This victory, which came after Tampa Bay dropped the first two games of the series, has given the Lightning players confidence heading into Wednesday’s series opener in Denver.

“As the series progressed, we got better and better, and I think (Saturday’s win) may have been our best game overall,” Lightning forward Alex Killorn said.

“And I think that’s important in a Stanley Cup run. It’s typically the team that improves the most throughout the run typically ends up winning, I find.”

Read more: Colorado Avalanche eyes third Stanley Cup since 1996

Steven Stamkos, a standout for the Tampa Bay Lightning, asserts that the team has built a close-knit unit despite suffering two consecutive Stanley Cup defeats in the postseason.