WASHINGTON — Jon Cooper walked into the locker room and didn’t get the sense Lightning players were down in the dumps about losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference final.
“It was more kind of like an anger of like we want to get back — like let’s get Game 3 going here,” Tampa Bay’s coach said.
Game 3 on Tuesday night in Washington can’t come soon enough for the Lightning, who are in a historically difficult spot after losing twice at home to open the series. Of the 41 previous times a team lost the first two games in the conference finals, 39 went on to lose the series — including every team that lost its first two at home.