The Tampa Bay Lightning seemed to sleepwalk through the first two periods of Game 6, and waking up in the final frame wasn’t enough to edge the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On the bright side, at least the Lightning aren’t in denial about that weak first 40 minutes.
It seemed like everyone on the team more or less admitted as much in unison.
Boyle: "We need to regroup. We need to be angry about this one." #TBLightning
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) May 25, 2016
Brian Boyle added that he felt like the Lightning tiptoed around this game. Jon Cooper often provides great quips, yet he was pretty matter-of-fact in this case.
Cooper: "They played better than us for two periods. That's it. We have to play better than them, that's the bottom line." #PITvsTBL
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 25, 2016
Many will linger on this disallowed goal for Jonathan Drouin, which would have provided a 1-0 lead for Tampa Bay in the first period.
Let’s face it; that moment came pretty early in the game. To Tampa Bay’s credit, they’re not pinning the loss on that setback.
Cooper on Drouin no-goal: "It would have been nice if that counted, but I don't think that had an effect on the outcome of the game."
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) May 25, 2016
Now they must set their sights on competing throughout Game 7 ... and maybe earning some bounces of their own in the process.
Cooper: "Pittsburgh has volleyed the ball into our court, and now it's on us to smash it back." #PITvsTBL
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 25, 2016