Steven Stamkos Searching for Superstar Moment as Stanley Cup Dream Starts Fading

Steven Stamkos is one of the NHL's nicest, most humble superstars. It has been a frequent media storyline surrounding the Tampa Bay Lightning's 25-year-old captain. If the Lightning lose the Stanley Cup Final to the Chicago Blackhawks, everyone should set a countdown clock for how fast Stamkos is labeled in a "Nice Guys Finish Last"-type of postmortem analysis of the Lightning.

Stamkos' talent is such that he is going to be used as a pivot point in any analyst's recap of what went right or what went ultimately wrong for Tampa Bay in a playoff series. If Stamkos puts up the numbers, then he'll do what he was supposed to do. If not, he immediately goes to the head of the class in an assignation of blame.

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It may not be fair, but the proper rejoinder is: That's why he gets the big bucks. 

In analyzing this Cup Final, it's fair to lay a good portion of blame at Stamkos' locker for the Lightning's 3-2 series deficit as the Final heads to Chicago for Game 6 on Monday night. Stamkos has long been a star for Tampa Bay, receiving all the plaudits one would assume for someone with his career statistics. 

But he has yet to get to that next inner circle, reserved for the all-time greats. Championship rings and the heavy lifting required to get them are the price of admission to these select circles, and Stamkos is one more loss away from squandering his chance for early entry.

Stamkos wanted to prove he was the right guy to lead Tampa Bay to the brink of a Cup win Saturday at Amalie Arena. This was just the right stage built for such a task. But he never showed up. In 21 minutes, 31 seconds (28 shifts overall), Stamkos finished with zero points, zero assists and one shot on net. That was the same number of shots veteran Brenden Morrow put on Corey Crawford in 8:36 of ice time. 

Tampa Bay's coach, Jon Cooper, tried his best to give Stamkos a vote of confidence after the loss, but it's hard to see how his words will be viewed as anything less than a polite rebuke of his top forward. Cooper told reporters from the podium:

"

At some point, like, you just can't keep playing the same guy over and over because then they become ineffective. But our top players are getting the minutes. It's the full 60 minutes here we have to dwell on.

We can't sit here and say, "I know we need that goal in the last minute, but I've learned that you keep putting the same guys out the last four minutes, by the time you got to the last two minutes, they've got nothing left." These guys know.

We know when they're ready. They tell me when they're ready to go back out. It's a team. Stammer's a huge part of this. He's trying to score like everybody else. But we can't sit here and say we're going to put one single player out there for the last four or five minutes and expect results.

He gave it everything he had. So did everybody else. We're struggling to score right now.

"

Stamkos looked nervous all game, not at all ready for a seize-the-day moment. On the bench by the end of the game, he wasn't talking to anyone. He just stared ahead, his face not of a captain but of a scared 25-year-old. 

Tampa Bay's three losses in this series have been by 2-1 final scores. If even one of them were a 6-5 or 5-4 game and Stamkos produced anywhere near like he usually does, he wouldn't be the main focus of blame for the Lightning's 3-2 deficit.

But those are final scores that, if the Lightning go on to lose the series, cried out for someone on the offensive side to be the hero. Stamkos, with the most ice time of any forward in Game 5, with his team having a banged-up goalie and another top forward or two, didn't deliver. He thus gets the blame.

To his credit, Stamkos accepted that blame after Game 5. Craig Custance of ESPN The Magazine shared his comments:

In the past seven playoff games, Stamkos has just one assist. This, after he had been changing bad headlines to good, with six goals in his previous 10 games entering the Final.

The good news for No. 91: He still has a chance at redemption. That will come in Game 6 at the United Center and, if things go his way, a Game 7 back in Tampa. How can he accomplish that? 

For starters, it's time to get a lot meaner on the ice. Stamkos is at his best when he plays with a bit of an edge, where he's throwing his body around some in addition to setting up for pretty one-timers. So far, Stamkos has played with the edge of a retiree during an afternoon nap.

To these eyes anyway, he and the Lightning have given the Blackhawks far too much respect. That's a nice way of saying it's time to play with sharper elbows and looser tongues. No one better to lead by such an example than the team captain.

Chicago wants to lull you into a nice, polite skating game where a minimum of fuss is put up with from the top opposition guys. So far, Stamkos is fitting too nicely into the Chicago paradigm of success.

He's got, at best, one more chance to change the storyline. If not, a nice guy will have finished last in the Stanley Cup Final.

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him @Adater.