TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning (32-16-1) have not lost a game on home ice in 63 days (Dec. 6, 2022).
Tonight, they play the second game of a back-to-back at Amalie Arena. A home game is just what the Bolts need after an embarrassing 7-1 loss on Monday night at the Florida Panthers.
“We played three really good games coming into the break,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “Coming out of the break, it looked like one team was hungry, and one team didn’t show up to play a game.”
“I don’t want to sit here and say we are still on vacation,” head coach Jon Cooper added. “Their will to win was a little bit stronger than ours. One practice isn’t going to emulate a game after you’ve had eight days off.”
Tampa Bay could point to rust as a reason they suffered their worst loss of the season. Cooper hopes that game was just a “one-off” in an 82-game season.
“It’s good to play again the next day when you have a game like that,” Stamkos said.
“Let’s see how we respond. This one is over,” Cooper said. “Games like this don’t really happen often to us.”
Lightning will look to lean on leadership and experience to bounce back.
They will look to extend their franchise-best 12-game home winning streak when they take on the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m.
