TAMPA – To be the champ, you have to beat the champ.
When you're the back-to- back champion, the target is doubled in size.
And while things look normal this season, and in many ways feels normal in these still abnormal times, it's not the same for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they embark on a full 82-game season for the first time since 2018-19.
Coming off consecutive Stanley Cup titles, the Lightning this season will see 31 opponents looking to take a piece of the champions, not seven.
The struggle will be real, and opening night was a precursor of what the Lightning. Not to take the Lightning...
