Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper said their Game 7 loss was the hockey gods being in the other corner. But goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy suggested that was an excuse on replay. What comes next?
The Montreal Canadiens got the best of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 in what was an incredibly tight series between two Atlantic Division powerhouses.
While the Canadiens move on to meet the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, the Lightning have now been eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth straight time.
It's tough to blame Tampa Bay for not getting past Montreal, as every single game was decided by one goal, but the team that once visited the Cup final in three straight seasons has been bounced in the opening round yet again.
That's led to some disagreements in the aftermath about the team's status.
What Went Wrong For The Lightning?
"The hockey gods have been in my corner many, many times, and tonight they were in the other corner," Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters on Sunday night.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy wasn't too fond of Cooper's assessment of the Lightning's series and rolled his eyes.
"I feel like that's our excuse the last few years," the Vezina Trophy finalist said in his exit interview on Tuesday. "Like a broken record over and over again... we have to man up here."
Vasilevskiy did agree that there were some "bad bounces" that played a role in Tampa's elimination, however.
There aren't any ways to prepare for a series with the amount of bounces that the Habs and Bolts had, including Alex Newhook's series-clinching goal, but Tampa Bay nearly did everything it could defensively in Sunday's Game 7.
Tampa silenced Montreal's offense for the second period, allowing zero shots on goal in that frame. Despite that effort and holding the Habs to a total of nine shots all game, they weren't able to come out on top, partly because of a monstrous performance from Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes.
Perhaps the Lightning could have helped themselves a little more in this post-season if they had earned a more favorable matchup in the regular-season standings.
But perhaps they would have fared better if Nikita Kucherov scored more than one goal. Perhaps they would have won a round in past years if Kucherov has combined for more than two goals in 23 playoff games over the past four years.
His six assists in this series and 21 helpers over the past four post-seasons are certainly effective, but with only one player on this year's Lightning who scored more than twice against Montreal, the Bolts need their stars to do the scoring themselves.
At any rate, even though they had a great season and respectable outing in the first round, they've made little progress in the last four years.
What's Next For The Lightning?
It's another campaign that has ended sooner than GM Julien BriseBois and the Lightning might've expected.
It's another chance for BriseBois to get a head start on expiring contracts and looking to find ways to extend Tampa Bay's championship window, which could be closing soon.
With a few players on the Lightning's main roster who need new deals, defenseman Darren Raddysh will be the piece of business that needs to be handled with the most urgency.
The 30-year-old blueliner and pending UFA had an incredible breakout season, scoring 22 goals and 70 points in 73 regular-season contests.
Though he had just a pair of points in the playoffs, there's no question he'll require a massive raise from his current $975,000 salary cap hit. Along with Raddysh, Oliver Bjorkstrand's contract is expiring, as is Corey Perry's.
Also, as of July 1, superstar Kucherov will be eligible to sign a contract extension with Tampa, as his deal expires following the 2026-27 campaign.
Aside from the roster, Cooper just completed his 14th season as the coach of the Lightning, and there could be an argument about whether he has taken this team as far as he could.
However, in BriseBois' media availability, he put aside any theories about Cooper's job security.
"He's going to be here for a while," Tampa Bay's GM said of the Jack Adams Trophy finalist.
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