Lightning happy with split on road, but hungry for more
The Tampa Bay Lightning are back home after splitting the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals, feeling good about themselves, though hardly satisfied.
“We’ve got to play better to win this series, there’s no doubt,” coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday, adding that the team has yet to “put our best foot forward” against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Lightning have been one of the NHL’s most resilient teams during the playoffs, so they’re confident they have the resolve to bounce back from a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 to regain the edge in the best-of-seven matchup.
Cooper is more concerned with eliminating mistakes that have contributed to a lack of scoring opportunities, as well as playing better defense in front of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who’s filling in for injured starter Ben Bishop.
Bishop left Game 1 with a lower left leg injury and is day-to-day.
[...] though Cooper said he’s optimistic the Vezina Trophy finalist will be able to return at some point in the series, it doesn’t seem likely Wednesday.
The young goaltender settled after allowing two early goals, giving Tampa Bay a chance to dump the Penguins into a 2-0 series hole until Sidney Crosby scored the first overtime playoff winner of his career just 40 seconds into the extra period.
The goal was his first since Game 4 of the opening round against the New York Rangers, a puzzling eight-game slump the Penguins hope is behind their star.
The Lightning, trying to reach the Stanley Cup final for the second straight year, advanced in five games in each of the first two rounds.