Amazing how these Stanley Cup playoffs have unfolded for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Win one, lose one. Over and over again, right into the finals against the Calgary Flames.

In a Cup final series where it's hard to get a handle on whether Tampa Bay or Calgary is the better team -- the series is deadlocked at 2-2 -- a few constants have emerged. The win-loss thing, for certain. The other is Calgary's physicality. The Flames are a bunch of brutes on skates. Everyone knows it.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. History shows us the Philadelphia Flyers won two Stanley Cups with their Broad Street Bullies. Except these guys are taking liberties and dolling out the hurts on the Lightning's skill players.

Flames coach Darryl Sutter already has admitted he doesn't have the skill players to get into a game of shinny hockey with Tampa Bay. So, he's trying to take the skill out with a trap and bang ‘n crash hockey.

Sutter should be angry after the Memorial Day Muff, a 1-0 loss -- angry because the Flames punished the Lightning in Game 3 with ferocious checking and downright nastiness, reducing the series to a street fight. Calgary should have won Game 4.

Instead, the Flames carelessly wasted whatever momentum was gained the previous game. It was like these guys had just gotten back from a day of  R&R in Banff. Outside of the hits, the indifference exhibited by the Flames was stunning, which makes you wonder what's ahead in Game 5 on Thursday.

"Ugly as hell, but we found a way," said Lightning coach John Tortorella.

Ugly is dead on. Sutter's strategy of inflicting pain and suffering seemed to work in Game 3. It's an approach that Calgary needs to stick by if the Flames want to win their second Cup since 1989.

That said, how does one explain Jarome Iginla free-floating on Monday? Where was that so-called "edge" the home team is supposed to generate after a physical win? He beats up Vinny Lecavalier, gets himself a Gordie Howe hat trick -- a goal, an assist, a fight --  then does pirouettes the next game?

Is Iginla going to show up Thursday? The world stage is set for him to grab the NHL by the throat and become its next Mario Lemieux. Instead, he simply disappears during one of the boring, indifferent one-goal games in the history of Lord Stanley's celebration.

"We did everything we could to win," Sutter said. "I think."

That pregnant pause -- "I think" -- needs to be examined because there wasn't a trace of desperation exhibited by Calgary until the final minute of the game.

But then, Ville Nieminen had been tossed with a five-minute major for a vicious board check that might have left Lecavalier seeing stars. We won't know whether Vinny is suffering from a concussion, but if he doesn't play Thursday, chances are he has a concussion, much like most of us suspect Ruslan Fedotenko has.

The NHL suspended Nieminen for Game 5 an appropriate response to a hit that could define the remainder of the series. At the very least, it demonstrates that The Commish, Gary Bettman, cares about protecting his skill players in what's supposed to be the league's showcase event.

Meanwhile, Sutter all but said there was a conspiracy by the NHL to penalize the small-market Flames.

“We’re the little team that wasn’t supposed to be here," Sutter said. "and a lot of people don’t want us to be here and to make sure that we’re not successful.  We know that.”

Asked about his thoughts on Nieminen's cheap shot, Tortorella replied, "It's a tough game and it's supposed to be a tough game. But when it comes to behind-the-back blows to the head, that's where someone is defenseless..."

Nieminen claimed innocence.

"He was two feet away from the boards and lost his balance," he said. "I tried to get him out of the way and take the puck. I didn't take any strides, or anything like that ... I was going to finish my board check and go for the battle."

The questionable hits are the one tangible that seems to have defined the Flames in the series.  If you're keeping score, that's two such dangerous muggings in the last two games. The other was Robyn Regehr slamming Fedotenko's face into the top of the dasher boards during Game 3.

The Lightning has shown throughout the playoffs that while it may prefer pond hockey to slam hockey, it nonetheless dishes it out when needed and won't shy away from the nastiness.

“I think we were aware of (their hitting) coming into the series," said Dave Andreychuk. “Our defense doesn't hold us, there's no picking. That's the way we play and they know that, so we are vulnerable to getting more hits because of that … We know they are going to hit. We have to stay focused on what we have to do, not how they are hitting us."

Andreychuk says the focus for Game 5 has to be press the attack at the start and get the game's first goal. Do that, and chances are, the Lightning can sway Calgary into a run 'n gun affair instead of a brawl. Let's face it.  Tampa Bay can't trade hits and expect to survive the series. At least, its skill players won't survive it.

Tortorella lashed out at his top players after the loss in Game 3 by saying his best players -- and he named them -- needed to raise their game.

"By the finals, you're damn right, you better raise your game," he said. "I'm not pointing a finger at them, but your best players have to be your best players."

Well, he got that from Brad Richards in Game 4. In games after Tampa Bay has lost, Richards has six goals, six assists and is plus-4. Now that is what you call raising your game when it counts. Richards also set a league record with seven game-winning goals in one playoff run.

"You dream of one, obviously, but I'd rather not talk about it," Richards said. "It's great to score goals, but your team has to do the job and shut them down. And it's not like I scored seven in a row in overtime."

Hmmm? Overtime. Now that's something we haven't seen yet.

MORE FROM NHL

NHL Section Front

Gretzky fights request to view his tax returns Clement: Go with Caps to win Cup next season Breakdown of top unrestricted free agents Clement: What you need to know about NHL offseason Breaking down the perfect NHL player Special section: NHL on NBC SCORES, STANDINGS, SCHEDULES, STATS Rotoworld: Latest NHL player news, rumors, more Team-by-team transactions Full coverage of every team NHL Section Front   Add NHL headlines to your news reader: