That being said, the Magic are leading the series 3 games to 2. Game six is tonight in Philadelphia at 7:30.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, 2004 winners of the cup, begin their playoff run today in East Rutherford, NJ as the 7th seeded Lightning face number 2 seed NJ Devils.

Tampa Bay is 13-4 with three ties in the last 20 matchups with New Jersey.

“You remember it, you learn and you try not to make those same mistakes,” Devils center John Madden said of figuring out how to beat the Lightning. “You take the videos and break them down and see what’s going on, the matchups and everything.

“At the same time, this is the playoffs and for the lack of a better cliche, it’s another season.”

The Bolts will be depending on their trio of forwards Brad Richards, Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.

During the regular season, Tampa’s core players kept up their end of the bargain for the most part. Lecavalier led the league with 52 goals and was third in scoring with 108 points. St. Louis exceeded his totals from his 2004 MVP season with 43 goals and 102 points. Richards, while his point totals were down for the first time in his career (finishing with 70), stepped up as a leader in the locker room. He took on more responsibility on and off the ice while finishing second in the league in ice time by a forward, trailing only St. Louis.

I am so ready for this. Let the games begin.