When the dust settled at the trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Lightning appeared to be resigned to missing the postseason. They dumped Valtteri Filppula's contract on the Philadelphia Flyers, sent Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs and shipped starting goaltender Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings.
Yet as the Lightning prepare to face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, they are three points out of a playoff spot thanks to a hot run in March led by Bishop's understudy.