[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]

The Right Direction
Through sheer force of will, the strong-minded coach guides his team to its highest potential.

At the sports bars
Playoff fever is sure to spill over into the local sports bars as the Lightning makes its first appearance in the postseason since 1996. Here are a few places in the Tampa Bay area where you can enjoy the game with fellow hockey fans.

Meet the Washington Capitals
WEB SITE: www.washingtoncaps.com

Lightning players and their roles
GOALTENDERS

Capitals vs. Lightning: 2002-3 game by game
Oct. 25: LIGHTNING 3, Capitals 2

Drumroll, please ...
The top 10 reasons the NHL's Stanley Cup is better than the NFL's Vince Lombardi Trophy:

The trophies
Stanley Cup

About the playoffs
FORMAT: The top eight teams in each conference compete in best-of-seven series with division winners receiving the top three seeds. The higher seed hosts the first two games, the lower seed the next two and then they alternate home games until there is a winner. Teams must win three series to advance to the Stanley Cup final.

High profile: Martin St. Louis
LEG MAN

Where are they now: 1995-96 Tampa Bay Lightning
This season's playoff run evokes memories of Tampa Bay's last -- and only -- postseason appearance. That team played at St. Petersburg's ThunderDome (now Tropicana Field), where crowds of 18,000-plus were the norm and the NHL's attendance record was set. On April 23, 1996, Game 4 of the Lightning-Flyers playoff series drew 28,183. The Flyers' 4-1 victory tied the series 2-2. Here is where players from that team are now.

Turning points
SOMETIME LAST SUMMER: Under order from general manager Jay Feaster, Vinny Lecavalier and coach John Tortorella bury the hatchet as the coach says he will use his star center in all game situations. Lecavalier responds by showing up for camp in the best shape of his career.

From then until now
When the Lightning last made the playoffs in the spring of 1996:

Some storylines to consider
SERIES