TAMPA, Fla. — They kept the doors closed a little longer than usual to make sure everyone was aware of the situation.
Having played great for two-plus periods, and squandered a chance to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup opener, the Tampa Bay Lightning had a quick heart-to-heart following Wednesday’s 2-1 loss.
The message? Stay the course, but next time don’t let up.
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“It didn’t really need to be said, but it was,” said veteran forward Brenden Morrow. “We’re a team that needs to play with pace and be aggressive. When we hold on good things don’t seem to happen for us.”
Through 40 minutes, this had looked like a statement performance for the Lightning.
They faced a number of questions after the morning skate about how they might possibly hang with the mighty Blackhawks and then skated them out of the rink in the first period. Alex Killorn scored a ridiculous spinning tip-in goal on a shot that was going six feet wide and still the Lightning pressed on.
The 1-0 lead stood into the third period, but the clock didn’t move as fast as their minds. Tampa grew more tentative and not long after Ryan Callahan missed on a breakaway the Blackhawks struck twice in 118 seconds.
Boom.
“There’s a fine line between respect and fear,” said Morrow. “I think we respect them; you can’t fear them. It looked like in the third we were holding on and the fear of what might be coming or what might happen (set in).”
On a night when the young Lightning played so well it had to be a little unnerving. The margin for error is shrinking and this was a lost opportunity.
However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about this group of players it’s that they rarely get discouraged. They haven’t lost more than two games in a row all season and they’ve pulled themselves out of a couple holes already during this playoff run.
Steven Stamkos, who played a whale of a game along with linemates Killorn and Valtteri Filppula, struck a hopeful tone when the dressing room eventually opened.
“For most of the game we saw we can hang (with them), and we can be better,” said Stamkos. “You’ve got to go through these situations to learn from them. It comes down to the small details, and it comes down to a bounce.
“And this is what we have to expect. They’re a team that’s won in many different ways over the course of their run, and we’ve done it as well.”
The real lesson to come out of Game 1 is that this is likely to be a long series. The play was patient and controlled. The teams combined for just 44 shots on net.
It was Chicago’s depth players that made the difference offensively, with Teuvo Teravainen floating a shot through an impossible amount of traffic and somehow finding the sliver of space in the top of the net.
“That goal had eyes,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper.
Antoine Vermette’s winner came after an extended shift in Tampa’s zone. Teravainen stole the puck from J.T. Brown and found his centreman open in the slot.
Other than trying to bleed out the victory in the third period, the Lightning erred by not building a bigger lead. Killorn shot wide on a golden opportunity early and missed another one late. Stamkos got a decent look in the second period.
All of those chances were more dangerous than anything the Blackhawks were able to generate.
Another reason the Lightning players may have chosen to have a post-game talk is that they never lose this way. They had been 41-0-2 when leading after two periods during the regular season and 8-0 in the playoffs.
“We just let a team stick around that’s experienced in these situations and that probably knew that if they keep it to one they had a chance,” said Stamkos.
They can’t let it happen again.
“The Blackhawks are probably the most well-oiled machine in the league for a number of years,” said Lightning defenceman Anton Stralman.
“They’re really good at what they do. You can’t take anything for granted against a team like that.
“You can’t give them too much room and space like we did for 15 minutes in that game.”
Even with two off-days before Game 2 on Saturday, it was a message they had already hashed over amongst themselves within minutes of the final buzzer.
