For the fourth year in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning struck out in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But Bolts head coach Jon Cooper was still gracious in defeat following his team’s 2-1 loss in Game 7 of their series against the Montreal Canadiens at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla.
“The Hockey Gods have been in my corner many, many times and tonight they were in the other corner,” Cooper told reporters during the postgame press conference, via Evan Closky of WTSP-TV.
That was perhaps the best way to sum up how things went for the Lightning in the contest.
Tampa Bay dominated the possession battle, taking 29 shots on goal to just 9 by the Canadiens. In fact, the Habs did not even record a shot on goal for the entire second period. Yet, the Lightning failed to capitalize.
Nick Suzuki put Montreal on the board first with a goal in the opening period before Dominic James scored on the power play in the second frame to tie the score at 1-1. Alex Newhook scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Canadiens in the third period, as the Lightning struggled all night to solve Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes, who turned away 28 Tampa Bay shots on goal.
Cooper concludes his 13th season as Tampa Bay Lightning head coach with just three playoff wins to show for it. The team, however, finished second in the Atlantic Division with 106 points.
Tampa Bay won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles under Cooper in 2020 and 2021, but the team has progressed past the first round of the playoffs just once since.
