Why have the Tampa Bay Lightning thrived while Nashville Predators have been on decline?
Turns out Lightning can strike twice in a row. The Tampa Bay Lightning sewed up their second straight Stanley Cup championship Wednesday, ousting the longshot Montreal Canadiens in five games. Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators, who just four years ago played the role of this year's underdog Canadiens, peaked as a franchise by unexpectedly reaching the Final before falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins won their second consecutive title that year, too. The Predators have been sliding toward mediocrity since. Yes, they won the Presidents' Trophy in 2018, and back-to-back division titles in '18 and '19. But those times seem so far away. Predators general manager David Poile understands his team isn't in the company of the league's best. He said as much after last season. The Lightning, however, have been able to sustain success, which is evident by their three Stanley Cup Final appearances and five conference finals appearances in the last seven seasons. Here's a look at a few differences between the teams:  Elite forwards  Every elite team needs elite scorers. The Predators have a couple (see: Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen) they pay like elite centers, but neither have come close to living up to their elite paychecks (each carries an $8 million cap hit). Filip Forsberg has shown flashes of elite, but not consistently. Historically, the Predators have been thin in this area. Consider: Recently traded Viktor Arvidsson holds the single-season franchise record with 34 goals. Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point all had at least 41 in 2018-19, the last full regular season. All three also had more than 90 points that season. Defenseman Roman Josi led the Predators with 33 points this season. The Lightning had six players with at least that many. Elite defensive depth  Defense has been a strong suit for the Predators. Josi won the Norris Trophy in 2019-20. Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm also are homegrown talent that has flourished. The Lightning have their own Norris winner (2018) in Victor Hedman, who also has a Conn Smythe to his name. He, too, can score. Where the Predators struggle most is their third pair, a revolving door of late that has cost them. Elite goaltending  Pekka Rinne is a Predators legend with a Vezina Trophy on his resume. He will be 39 in November and is considering whether to return for another season as Juuse Saros' backup. Saros was elite for the final two months of the regular season, but he's no Andrei Vasilevskiy. Not that many are as good at the Lightning's goalie, who also has a Vezina to his name. He has led the league in victories four years running and had a .937 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average this postseason. Reach Paul Skrbina at pskrbina@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @PaulSkrbina.