No active NHL coach has spent more time running his bench than Jon Cooper.
No active NHL coach has spent less time running his bench than Luke Richardson.
And Round 1 went to the more experienced bench boss.
Home ice helps.
With the advantage of final change, keeping Brayden Point’s lethal top line away from shutdown master Philipp Danault and his wingers was a stroke of simple genius by Cooper.
Not all coaches have taken the same tack when facing one of the game’s premier defensive forwards, and Danault has helped quiet the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler, Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty to get here.
And not all coaches have the benefit of Cooper’s forward depth.
Point & Co. feasted on young Montreal forwards Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi plus Tyler Toffoli, and each member of that line finished a dash-3.
“I like the way things were going for us, and so we stuck with it. Does it mean we're gonna keep sticking with it? Who knows?” Cooper said.
Added Steven Stamkos: “We have a game plan, and we have a recipe. And if we do the right things, we believe we’re going to get rewarded for it. We have so far to get to this point and I thought we did that in [Game 1]. When we’re on top of our game like that, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Olympic dreams deferred?
Hard to imagine, but perennial Norris contender Victor Hedman was passed over in 2014 and thus did not win a silver Olympic medal with Team Sweden.
“The Olympics is one of the biggest dreams of mine, and I haven’t been able to participate in one,” Hedman said Tuesday. “And this might be the last chance I get. It’s something I’ve dreamed about my entire life.”
Young Hedman watched the likes of veterans Henrik Tallinder, Johnny Oduya and Jonathan Ericsson duke it out with Carey Price and Team Canada in ’14 — the last appearance by NHLers at the Games.
On Monday, commissioner Gary Bettman sounded less than optimistic that we’ll witness a return to true best-on-best in 2022 in Beijing.
“That would be unfortunate if the players weren't able to go. I can only speak for the guys in the room,” said Jon Cooper, reported frontrunner to coach Team Canada.
“I know they genuinely love going to the Olympics. I think there is something about the best-on-best. There is something about how proud you are from the country you're from and to wear the flag.”
Cooper flew to Vancouver in 2010 as a fan, just to witness Sidney Crosby score the golden goal.
“I got a little taste of it in the World Cup. But it just… it wasn't the Olympics. Even my participation in the [2017] world championships, it's amazing — the pride the teams have, regardless what country you're from. And it was one of the coolest events I've ever been to. So I can't even imagine what these players feel like when they go to Olympics, just to be around the best athletes of all the sports,” Cooper continued.
“So I could see how that would be tough for guys to swallow.”
Tampa versus Montreal turns in to U.S.A. versus Canada
At the outset of Game 1 and the first appearance by a Canadian team in a Stanley Cup in 10 years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested a “friendly wager” with his leader to the south.
President Joe Biden gladly accepted the betting favourite in a Twitter exchange.
Details of the deal have yet to be sorted out.
“We’re intrigued,” tweeted the Tampa Bay Lightning club account after the win. “What are your thoughts, Mr. President?”
Suggestion: How about betting equitable health care for the confidence to speak up in class?
You’re on pal. #GoBolts https://t.co/jOhA7IB2bE
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 29, 2021
More interesting than world leaders throwing some dense bagels and fatty smoked meat on the outcome of a sporting event is the response Trudeau’s tweet received from Francesca Vangel, wife of Tampa forward Pat Maroon.
“Friendly wager? How about you let the families of the players cross the [border] (both teams) and enjoy it this year. Just a thought,” Vangel tweeted.
This is a sore point among the players’ close friends and family members, who missed out on the bubble Cup celebrations last summer due to the pandemic.
Were the Lightning to repeat — and Maroon three-peat — in four or six games, the Tampa families could go 0-for-2 on attendance at life-changing moments.
Friendly wager? How about you let the families of the players cross the boarder (both teams) and enjoy it this year. Just a thought. https://t.co/baBdbVALcw
— Francesca V (@FrancescaAnna) June 29, 2021
Killorn questionable for Game 2
Alex Killorn’s nobility has put him in jeopardy of missing Game 2 Wednesday.
The heart-and-soul forward fearlessly extended his leg and absorbed the full blast of a Jeff Petry slap shot in Game 1.
MONSTER block from #GoBolts Alex Killorn
@NHLonNBCSports pic.twitter.com/2yNAUApjF8— Here's Your Replay (@TheReplayGuy) June 29, 2021
Killorn tested his foot for all of one shift in the third period but sat out the remainder of the game and did not participate on the power play.
Officially listed as day-to-day, per coach Jon Cooper Tuesday, Killorn’s availability is now in doubt.
Weber fined, again
Montreal captain Shea Weber added to his nasty reputation and subtracted from his pocketbook.
The defenceman was dinged for a $5,000 slashing fine for a heaty whack he delivered to the back of Nikita Kucherov’s leg in the third period.
Weber was fined the same amount for cross-checking Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds in Round 1.
Gallagher is a go
As expected, Montreal agitator supreme Brendan Gallagher was taking it and dishing it out throughout Game 1.
But his gruesome appearance after getting slammed helmetless into the ice during a scrum with Tampa’s Mikhail Sergachev had some wondering about a potential concussion.
"He doesn't look great. He looks like a roadmap right now," assistant coach Luke Richardson said Tuesday.
Richardson confirmed that despite the gore and a goose egg, Gallagher will ride again.
Playoff. Hockey. #ItsOn | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/hlfxkfqZTy
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 29, 2021
Canadiens must generate more offence
This typically goes without saying after a 5-1 trouncing, but it’s even a bigger deal when the reigning Vezina champ, Andrei Vasilevskiy, is barely tested.
Montreal mustered all of seven high-danger scoring chances, per NaturalStatTrick.com, all game — and four of those arrived in the third period, with Tampa already putting the game out of reach.
Too often the Canadiens — a rush team — would lose speed through the neutral zone and attempt lateral passes. Too often those passes were picked off, and pucks sped in the opposite direction for Lightning counterattacks.
The Habs were beat at their own game, just as the Islanders were at theirs.
In fact, the only goal Montreal did score was a low-percentage Ben Chiarot shot that needed a double deflection off two Tampa players (Anthony Cirelli and Ryan McDonagh) to pinball past Vasilevskiy.
Too slow and too cute, Montreal must establish a forecheck and sustain some zone time if it hopes to escape Florida with a split.
"It was probably our worst game in our last five games," Richardson said. "We're ready to bounce back next game.”
One-Timers: Mikhail Sergachev on getting dealt to Tampa for Jonathan Drouin back in 2017: “It was great getting traded here. That’s all I’m going to say.”… The Canadiens have lost Game 1 of their past three Cup-winning series: 1979, 1986 and 1993… In Game 1, Carey Price surrendered five goals for the first time since April 3 versus Ottawa. That was 21 appearances ago.
