The Tampa Bay Lightning are in a world of trouble after losing Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Florida Panthers at home on Thursday night. The Bolts are in a 3-0 hole after the 5-3 defeat and on the verge of being the first team eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tampa head coach Jon Cooper shared an inspirational message for his team as they look to achieve the impossible in the Battle of Florida.
“It's tough when you get in situations like this and what you're going to say right at this moment,” the bench boss explained after the heartbreaking loss at Amalie Arena, according to Bally Sports Florida's Gabby Shirley.
“The big talk was we want the believers to show up to the rink tomorrow and, if you are not going to believe, then, you don't have to come so we will see how many guys show up tomorrow.”
It's certainly a powerful message from coach to team, but it doesn't change the fact this series has fully slipped away from the Lightning. After sweeping the Panthers in the second-round of the 2022 postseason, it's going to take a monumental effort just to avoid it themselves in Game 4.
Panthers have Lightning on the brink in Battle of Florida
As they were during their cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago, Florida just looks like a complete playoff team in 2024. They haven't given the Lightning an inch in the series, and have looked like the better team for most of it.
It also doesn't help that the Lightning were 0-for-4 on the powerplay after having the league's most dominant man advantage in the regular-season.
“If you are going to give us eight minutes, we got to do something with it and we didn't,” Cooper continued, per Shirley. “In a one goal game, that might have helped us out.”
“We had a couple of power plays that we didn't do much with,” echoed captain Steven Stamkos, per NHL.com's Corey Long, after scoring the team's first goal early in the second period.
“In a game that we got that many opportunities and they didn't, that's probably the difference in winning. We didn't have the execution that we're accustomed to. The effort was there, maybe the execution wasn't there in certain aspects.”
The Bolts led 2-1 early in the second period, but conceded three straight goals to fall down 4-2 halfway through the final frame. Although Nick Paul made it close with just over five minutes left in regulation, Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk sealed it with an empty netter in the final minute.
That goal could have ended the series, unless the Lightning have a miraculous comeback in them. And the way the Panthers are playing, it doesn't look good.
Tampa Bay advanced to three straight Stanley Cup Finals between 2020 and 2022 — and won two of them — but there might just not be enough magic left in this core to overcome. The Cats could be too good.
For the second straight postseason, Jon Cooper's club are on the brink of elimination in Round 1. It'll be intriguing to see if the team can avoid getting swept for the first time in six seasons at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
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