They just don’t die.
“Tampa Bay just knows how to win,” said Wayne Gretzky on the TNT panel.
“Knowing how to win” is an amorphous mantra. Something that is quickly thrust upon teams when they survive a seven-game series and lambasted on teams who can’t get out of their own way. The Tampa Bay Lightning were lumped into the latter for years before vivisecting that reputation in 2020 and 2021.
“You learn from experience,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “Experience doesn’t win you the game, but it sure can help. You cannot let that moment become too big for you.