Do you remember last year's Eastern Conference Final Game 6 against the Rangers?

The Lightning does.

“I know we came up flat, and in this league, you can't get behind that many goals, especially in a playoff game," said defenseman Jason Garrison, who tallied an assist on the game-winning overtime goal in Game 5.  "We've got to make sure that that's not the case.”

The Bolts had a chance to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Final at home in Game 6.  Instead, they got crushed.  A 7-3 loss to the Rangers on home ice.

"I think we won such a big game in Game 5 (vs. New York), I think the natural inclination was, 'oh, we're going home. We're going to close this out', especially the way we won Game 5, and they blew us out," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.

The Lightning, who is trying to be the first back-to-back Eastern Conference champs since Pittsburgh did it in 2008 and 2009, says they've learned their lesson.  They say they can't get caught up in the moment again. 

“I think this year we're just more experienced," said Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr.  "I think guys know what to do, and hopefully we learned from that last year, and we're going to be able to, like I said, close it out at home.”

"The series isn't over," said Garrison.  "That's the mindset that everyone has to have. We've got to focus on tomorrow night, turn the page from last night, and and put our best game together.”

Nikita Kucherov broke out of his scoring drought in Game 5.  He scored two goals and leads the NHL playoffs with 11. 

"He keeps climbing the ladder, and he keeps getting better," said Cooper about Kucherov.  "But what has really been remarkable for me this year in watching him is the timeliness of his game."

"So he's not scoring one goal in a 6-1 loss or the sixth goal in a 6-1 win. He's getting the game tier, game winner, sets up the biggest of the biggest goals, and that says a little bit about the type of player you are. And when you need him, he's the one ultimately, more often than not, that's there for you. I think that's the one thing that's remarkable about him."

The Bolts have been perfect in elimination games so far this postseason and keeping it that way would result in a Prince of Wales trophy celebration Tuesday night on home ice.  It's something they'll definitely want to remember next year at this time.

“When it's been time to close the teams out, we’ve rose to the occasion, and we're going to need to do that one more time," said Cooper.