Jon Cooper reflects on Leafs/Lightning playoff series ahead of Saturday's clash with the Buds
Tonight in Tampa will be the first time since Game 7 of the first round that the Leafs and Lightning will play each other. The Leafs failed to advance past the first round for the sixth straight season, while Tampa managed to make their way to their third straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Both teams have gone through a significant amount of change over the off-season due to cap constraints, but they both have their core intact. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was asked what he remembers most about the series last year and said, "I remember the feeling after Game 7, that relief or exuberance. There were so many emotions standing on the ice after we'd won ... It was 2 good hockey teams that went at it and if you played 7 more games, it probably would have went 7 more. It was that close."
Once again, Cooper offered some high praise for the Leafs and the way they played the series. Cooper is not wrong though, a couple of bad bounces and "bonehead" plays and penalties that could've gone the other way and it would've been a different outcome for the Leafs. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, though, right? The Leafs will have to do their best to not let the Game 6 demons haunt them if they want to extend their season-high win streak to 6 games tonight. Meanwhile, Tampa will look to find some consistency as they have been alternating wins and losses for much of the season.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 3 | 308 ANSWERS Jon Cooper reflects on Leafs/Lightning playoff series ahead of Saturday's clash with the Buds If the Leafs and Lightning meet again in this year's playoffs, who wins the series? | ||
| Leafs | 176 | 57.1 % |
| Lightning | 69 | 22.4 % |
| It's too close to call | 63 | 20.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
