But the Bruins suffered a tangible defeat last night: Patrice Bergeron suffered a concussion. It was a mild one, but a concussion nonetheless. Claude Julien already said Bergeron will miss the first couple of games in the next series, if not more.

Here are some things to keep in mind for the Eastern Conference Finals, which start tomorrow:

1. Tampa Bay is on fire

Fire doesn’t cut it, not even remotely. Tampa Bay defeating the Crosby and Malkin-less Penguins was no surprise, but Tampa Bay dominating the Capitals was a surprise. Tampa Bay rode their close victory over the Penguins into that series and demolished the Capitals, who rested for a long time after a short series against the Rangers.

2. Which team is better conditioned?

One theme during these playoffs has deal with the length of the series. Teams like the Capitals, Red Wings, and Canucks all wrapped up their first round series in five games or less. All three of those teams have been, or already have, done poorly in the second round. The teams getting a lot of rest lose their momentum in the next series. Both the Bruins and Tampa Bay will get some rest, but the Lightning have been resting for two days more than the Bruins. So now it’s going to come down to which team can carry their momentum into the next round.

3. If Patrice Bergeron doesn’t play…

That was a huge blow for the Bruins. Bergeron is one of the key players on the team, and his line has been doing very well in the playoffs so far. With Bergeron out, the Bruins, who are already missing Adam McQuaid, need to find someone capable of replacing Bergeron’s role on the team and rearrange the lines. It’s going to be a test for this team to overcome, but the Bruins can’t afford to fall behind if Bergeron doesn’t come back until the middle of the series. Here’s something else to keep in mind: the Bruins do not want to bring Bergeron back too early. They made that mistake with Marc Savard last year, and they’re paying for it right now. Bergeron suffered that sever concussion only three and a half years ago, so the Bruins need to be cautious with him.

5. Goaltending

Whoever has the best goalkeeper is going to win. I haven’t really been able to watch the Lightning in this series, but I’ve watched every Bruins game and Tim Thomas has played excellently and gotten more than his fair share of luck along the way. If Thomas keeps playing the way he is, there is no way Tampa Bay will win.

4. So who’s going to win?

Both of these teams are playing well, and playing better than most people expected them too. I would have picked the Bruins blindly, but Bergeron’s concussion has made me re-think that decision. But, the Bruins are still a strong enough team, provided players like Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Michael Ryder, Tim Thomas and Brad Marchand keep producing, the Bruins should be able to defeat the Lightning, although the series might go to seven games.