The Boston Bruins fancy themselves to be the beasts in the east. After an interesting Redditt poll showed that most of North America hates the Bruins, it’s easy to make the assertion that everyone hates Boston because they are the best.

However, a storm is brewing in a non-traditional hockey market. The Bruins will need to keep their eyes on a divisional opponent not named Montreal and could find themselves very quickly on the downside of a great run.

General manager Peter Chiarelli has assembled the structure of a dynasty in New England, but down in Tampa Bay, Steve Yzerman is doing the same with the Lightning. The Boston dominance in the east was expected to be challenged by the Penguins from Pittsburgh, but the 2013 Eastern Conference finalists have fallen on hard times (of sorts) and went back to the drawing board with their coaching staff.

Enter coach Jon Cooper and his Tampa Bay Lightning. With super-sniper Steven Stamkos missing the bulk of last season with a broken leg, the Bolts discovered some gems with Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat. Goaltender Ben Bishop stepped up into the starting goaltender role and Tampa, though playing without their best player, was nipping at the heels of the big dogs in Beantown.

The Bruins apparently got the memo that Tampa Bay was a legitimate threat and flipped the switch to finish the regular season on a high note. Though Tampa stumbled down the stretch and into the playoffs, ironically AFTER Stamkos returned to the lineup, they put the rest of the conference and the NHL on notice. With the youth and talent on the roster, they will be in the Stanley Cup discussion for years to come.

While it may start on offense with high-flying Stamkos and his band of talented young sparky’s, the Lightning have gotten sneaky good on defense all of a sudden. It is more than just Bishop protecting the net, but the Lightning were looking for a star took take over between the pipes since Dwayne Roloson’s memorable run to the conference finals three years ago.

Bishop was a legitimate Vezina Trophy candidate last season and his value to the Bolts was exposed when he fell awkwardly ending his playoffs and Tampa’s hopes at a sustained run. He was backed up by Anders Lindback who didn’t play poorly, but was no match for Carey Price at the other end of the ice.

The Lightning weren’t outplayed by the Canadiens in their series, which is weird to say considering it was a four-game sweep. Almost every game was up for grabs and one of the biggest factors was experience. Not that the Montreal roster was laden with grizzled vets hardened with playoff experience, but the youth in Tampa seemed to be overwhelmed by the moment at times.

The telltale offensive struggles reflected a team that was not yet ready for prime time. While the premature exit may have been frustrating, chalk it up to invaluable experience that Tampa Bay can tuck away for the next time around.

The offseason saw Yzerman fortify the defense, trading for Jason Garrison and signing Anton Stralman as a free agent. The Bolts also resigned Ryan Callahan and also added Brian Boyle, Callahan’s former teammate in New York.  The grit and experience added to the roster this summer will serve the youth well as the Lightning look to prove that this past season was anything but a fluke.

All the off-season moves don’t equate to a hill of beans unless the Lightning can prove themselves on the ice. With six games head-to-head against their division rivals from the northeast, there will be plenty of opportunities for this new rivalry to develop into hatred.

While it may lack the history of the battles with Montreal, Boston will certainly not concede supremacy to the Atlantic Division or the Eastern Conference without a fight. Whether it is literally or figuratively a fight between the two clubs, if Tampa Bay wants to be the best they’ll have to beat the best.  (WOOOOOOOO) That starts in Boston.