As the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning get ready for Game 3 on Friday night in Montreal, one can wonder if the Bolts will change their approach for the next game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been insistent on making this series very physical, especially after Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson ran free in Game 1, dishing out hits left, right, and center. Coach Jon Sabourin elected to insert Scott Sabourin in his lineup for Game 2, and it came quite close to being costly.
It’s obvious that Sabourin was told to get into Anderson’s head. He spent the game chasing after him and even extended a fighting invitation at the very start of the game, which the Canadiens’ winger rightfully declined. With two minutes left in the game, Cooper put Sabourin on the ice, and he blindsided Anderson with a hard hit in the lower back, getting a two-minute penalty. That power play came quite close to giving Montreal the win when Lane Hutson hit the post, but it didn’t. The fact that Tampa survived that gave them even more momentum, and the Canadiens were nowhere to be seen in overtime.
Speaking to the media after the game, Cooper said this about Sabourin:
The team plays bigger when he’s in the lineup. He’s exceptional on the bench, and for 58 minutes, he stayed within the limits. But I can’t control everything.
That’s true, the coach can’t control everything, but he can certainly control who’s on the ice and when. Putting Sabourin on the ice in the dying minute was quite a gamble, and the Lightning nearly got burned, but they didn’t. It will be interesting to see whether Cooper has learned from this or will keep Sabourin in the lineup for Game 3.
The experienced bench boss also added this for good measure:
Somebody's got to be the villain, I guess. We're OK with it. The guys play hard. They're a determined group. When there's obstacles in their way, they'll try and get through it any way possible. If it's fighting their way through it, then so be it. That's what happens. But it's served us well.
Clearly, the days of the Bolts being all about the skills are over, and while they did win Game 2, they came close to losing it because the Canadiens rose above. It was quite something to see both Brandon Hagel and Corey Perry scream at the Canadiens from the penalty box while not one of the Habs in the box even looked at them.
Playing a physical game could work for Tampa, but going full-on intimidation mode and bully mode won’t serve them well. The Canadiens may be young and inexperienced, but they are disciplined and know they can let the Lightning hurt themselves with that kind of stuff.
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