MONTREAL — Back to the scene of the crime.
That, in the words of coach Jon Cooper, is how the Tampa Bay Lightning felt upon returning to the Bell Centre at playoff time. The first-round sweep they suffered to Montreal last spring did not sit well with his group and they’re looking to make amends.
Cooper has been known to use slogans as a way to help motivate his team, but didn’t feel it necessary to come up with one for this series.
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“The sting from last year is enough,” he said before Game 1 on Friday.
However, the coach was quick to point out that much has changed. Ben Bishop was injured for last year’s series and is coming off a Game 7 shutout of Detroit now.
Veterans Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle were added after going to the Stanley Cup final with the New York Rangers, and are among a list of newcomers that includes Jason Garrison, Brenden Morrow and Braydon Coburn.
On top of that, there is the added experience for the 13 playoff rookies they had last spring.
“All those young kids we had last year — (Johnson), Palat, (Kucherov), Paquette, all these guys — now they’re just a year older,” said Cooper. “You couple that with the group we brought in of experienced guys that have been there before, the Stralmans and Boyles, guys that have played a lot of playoff games in the last few years. So in that respect, we’re much different.
“We’re more experienced, and our goaltender’s different. We’ve got a guy that’s been our rock for two years in there. That clearly is a big difference.”
There was a confidence among this team as it prepared to open a second-round series with two games in Montreal.
Captain Steven Stamkos acknowledged that there’s a “different” atmosphere at the Bell Centre and said he found motivation in trying to quiet the raucous building.
Some of his teammates indicated that they felt more prepared for the situation.
“I think last year we were a lot more nervous,” said Tyler Johnson, who leads the playoffs with six goals. “We came into the games, and you’re really playing not to make mistakes because you really didn’t know what the playoffs were going to be like.”
If they have to battle anything, it might be fatigue.
The first-round victory over Detroit required them to dig deep and win three of the final four games. The playoffs are always a battle of attrition and the Lighting have barely had a moment to breathe.
At least Cooper has a full lineup to choose from after a string of injuries down the stretch in the regular season — with Valtteri Filppula pronouncing himself fit on Friday morning after missing a significant portion of Game 7 following a hit from Pavel Datsyuk.
Most of the focus has fallen on Stamkos, who hasn’t scored in 10 playoff games stretching back to the opener against the Habs last season.
He’s looking at this series as a clean slate.
“The first round was tough when you’re not producing, but that was an eye-opener for me that I can go out there and focus on other areas of the game, whether it was faceoffs or playing well defensively,” said Stamkos.
“Just getting out there and trying to create. Obviously, you want to help your team by producing, but when your team wins at the end of the day, it’s pretty satisfying.
“The beauty of it is it’s kind of a fresh start and I’m excited for that chance.”
Tampa hasn’t lost a game to the Canadiens since the sweep. They went 5-0 during the regular season and openly discussed their desire to answer last year’s performance.
Perhaps that is why Montreal coach Michel Therrien suggested his team was the only “underdog” among those with home ice advantage in the second round on Thursday.
Cooper wasn’t buying it.
“They had 110 points, won the division, have the Vezina candidate, Hart candidate and Norris candidate,” he said. “I guess if we had those, I’d say, ‘Yeah, he is the underdog.’ But we don’t have those.”
