After the Montreal Canadiens’ 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Canadiens assistant coach Luke Richardson mentioned that the good news was that the team did not play their best game.
On Tuesday, Canadiens forward Phillip Danault said that they were “pretty far” from it.
The fact is, Monday’s loss was just one game. The series isn’t won or lost on aggregate, and there are no style points awarded. The Canadiens were in a similar spot after Game 1 in Vegas, where they responded to win Game 2 after a big loss.