The Tampa Bay Lightning are closing in on a rare third successive Stanley Cup title, but while captain Steve Stamkos is confident his ¡°pretty special¡± squad will get it done, they face a huge challenge from the explosive Colorado Avalanche.

The last team to win three straight NHL championships was the New York Islanders, who won four in a row in the 1980s.

The Lightning showed they may have what it takes to three-peat by coming back from two games down to beat the New York Rangers in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.

¡°This group is pretty amazing, pretty special,¡± Stamkos told reporters after sealing their Stanley Cup spot with a Game 6 win over the Rangers on Saturday.

¡°Veteran guys, the young guys ¡ª each guy is just a part of the process and that¡¯s just what makes this team so special and tight and unique.¡±

With the best-of-seven series getting underway on Wednesday at Ball Arena in Denver, Lightning fans will be looking to goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to get them off to a flying start.

The Russian boasts a .928 save percentage in the postseason and he will need to be at his best to neutralize a well-rested Avalanche, who have enjoyed plenty of downtime since humiliating the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 in the Western Conference final.

Colorado, who lost in the second round the last three years, has scoring depth across the roster and is the oddsmakers¡¯ favorite.

Center Nathan MacKinnon has scored 11 times in the postseason while 23-year-old defenseman Cale Makar has been a rock at the back.

Avs head coach Jared Bednar said their focus had always been getting things right in the postseason.

¡°There¡¯s always been a bigger focus than just winning regular season hockey games,¡± Bednar told reporters.

¡°We kind of had the bigger picture in mind from Day 1 ... We have one step left and I don¡¯t feel like any of our guys are satisfied.¡±