If the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to hoist a third straight Stanley Cup, they'll have to make a little NHL history. 

Heading into Monday's Game 3 in Tampa Bay, the Lightning trail the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche 2-0 after dropping the opening two games in Denver. The Avs took Game 1 with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory before dismantling the Lightning in Game 2 by a score of 7-0. 

Now playing on home ice with their backs against the wall, the Lightning are in desperate need of a win.

No team in NHL history has overcome 2-0 series deficits in consecutive rounds. The Bolts lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden before storming back to win four consecutive games, punching their ticket to a third straight Stanley Cup Final. 

“This time of year there’s only two teams and this is the best time of the year to play hockey and it’s the finals,” said veteran Lightning forward Corey Perry. “Why wouldn’t you want to be here? Why would you want to just say ‘Hey, we play a lot of hockey.’ There’s no point saying that. So we’re excited to be here. We want to be here.”

On a positive note, home has been very sweet for the Lightning so far this spring as they're currently riding a franchise-record seven-game home winning streak. They'll attempt to become the third team in the past 10 years to win eight straight home games in the postseason. The Los Angeles Kings did it in 2013 and the Rangers accomplished the same feat during their playoff run this year. 

On the other hand, the Avalanche have won all seven of their road games this postseason and can become just the second team in history to reach eight straight victories away from home, joining the 2012 Kings, who won 10 straight. 

Something will have to give at Amalie Arena on Monday night. 

Furthermore, the Avs are a red-hot 14-2 this postseason and have tied the 2021 Kings, 1988 Edmonton Oilers, 1987 Oilers and the 1981 New York Islanders as the fastest teams to reach 14 wins in one playoff year. The '88 Oilers (16-2 in the playoffs) are the only team to lose fewer than four games en route to a Stanley Cup championship since the league expanded to four seven-game series in 1987. 

The Lightning are 8-4 all-time in the playoffs after being shut out in the previous game. 

If the Lightning can find a way to pull out another league title, it will mark the sixth time in Stanley Cup Final history that a team has rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to win the championship. It hasn't been done since 2011 when the Boston Bruins came back against the Vancouver Canucks.