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‘It’s not panic time’ for Lightning, losers of two straight

Dwight King, Ben Bishop

Los Angeles Kings left wing Dwight King, right, celebrates scoring on Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, left, in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

AP

Nobody thought it would be easy. Minus Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning faced a four-game road trip to Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Anaheim.

Turns out everyone was right; it hasn’t been easy. The first game of the trip was a loss, 6-3 to the Coyotes. The second was another three-goal defeat, 5-2 to the Kings.

Tonight, after suffering consecutive losses for the first time this season -- and with “the high of emotion from Steven going down” having run out, according to head coach Jon Cooper -- it’s a visit to the Shark Tank.

“It’s not panic time, it’s just addressing and correcting the mistakes and making sure we stop this,” Lightning captain Marty St. Louis said, per TBO.com. “You don’t want a two-gamer to turn into a four- or five-gamer. Let’s be honest and assess your game, be honest in how you’re playing, and at the end of the day we all have to do more.”

Whoever starts in goal for the Lightning, Ben Bishop or Anders Lindback, will “have to do more” as well. Tampa Bay has received excellent goaltending from Bishop this season; however, his last two outings have been rough ones. He left the game after allowing three goals on 14 shots in Phoenix, and he allowed five goals on 31 shots versus the Kings. Lindback, meanwhile, is 1-4-0 with a low .875 save percentage.