Cooper Urges Believers As Lightning Face Mounting Pressure

Rewritten: Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper made it clear to his team after their Game 3 loss against the Florida Panthers that puts them down 3-0 in a first-round series what message he intended to send was very obvious. Unlike games one and two, game three also saw close back-and-forth action where Tampa Bay could have easily won just as much as it did for Florida’s side. However, relying solely on luck is not advisable in the playoffs, and while Cooper acknowledged that coming up with statements right after a tough loss was challenging, he emphasized wanting believers to show up at practice tomorrow; if they weren’t ready to believe, there was no need for their presence as well. Recovering from a 3-0 series deficit is an arduous task and has only been achieved in four previous cases of the National Hockey League history—namely: The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs during Stanley Cup final (which ironically served its last purpose till NHL’s decision to award it once again), followed by New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers in their years’ ’07-’10; Los Angeles Kings reclaiming back both the Conference Championship and The Stanley cup finals three seasons apart. With Tampa Bay possessing sufficient playoff experience that could never let them quit on a series altogether, it feels like coming out of this predicament would be one of their biggest tests yet. Another factor to consider is Steven Stamkos’ free agency status at the end of summer as he might just be playing his final games in Lightning uniforms; how Tampa Bay responds could significantly impact whether or not he decides on renewing with them again.