TAMPA, Fla. — Lightning head coach Jon Cooper's face lit up when he was asked about getting ready for the playoffs.
"It’s why we do it. It’s the fun time of year," he said after Thursday's regular season finale against the New York Rangers. "It’s a roller coaster ride. There’s ups and downs. But with this group, there were so many more ups than downs. Any time a little adversity hit, these guys found a way to navigate their way through it."
Tampa Bay earned home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Bolts' postseason begins Tuesday. They'll meet the rival Florida Panthers for game one at Amalie Arena.
It was Florida who eliminated the Lightning in the first round of last year's playoffs, but Tampa Bay's players think this group has what it takes to stick around a little longer this postseason.
"I think this team knows what they have to do to win," forward Nick Paul explained. "When we start forcing plays and creating turnovers, high-risk, you know our game doesn’t go so well. When we’re simple, and hard, and winning all our battles, moving our feet, going north, and just continuously building each shift, that’s when our game’s the best. We know what it takes, and I think every guy in here’s ready to buy in."
The Lightning have a couple of extra days off before game one, but those days won't be viewed as downtime.
"It’ll be good for our guys, and we’ll get some good work days in and prep work," Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said Thursday night. "Obviously, a team we’re pretty familiar with. So it’s about getting all our details in order and feeling good about ourselves and believing in one another and getting off to a great start."
This series will be the fourth time in five seasons that the Lightning have met the Panthers in the playoffs. Cooper said that the assignment is clear.
"There is nothing that [Florida head coach Paul Maurice] doesn’t know about us, and I don’t know about them. There’s no secrets," he added. "It’s the rep of the East. It’s been the two of us for the last half a decade. I think the way the schedule sets up and the Battle of Florida happens, it can be must-watch TV, so it should be a lot of fun."
Here's a look at Tampa Bay's first-round schedule versus Florida:
Game 1 – Panthers at Lightning on Tuesday, April 22 (AMALIE Arena) 8:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Panthers at Lightning on Thursday, April 24 (AMALIE Arena) 6:30 p.m.
Game 3 – Lightning at Panthers on Saturday, April 26 (Amerant Bank Arena) 1 p.m.
Game 4 – Lightning at Panthers on Monday, April 28 (Amerant Bank Arena) TBD
Game 5 – Panthers at Lightning on Wednesday, April 30 (AMALIE Arena)*
Game 6 – Lightning at Panthers on Friday, May 2 (Amerant Bank Arena)*
Game 7 – Panthers at Lightning on Sunday, May 4 (AMALIE Arena)*
*if necessary
All times listed are ET and subject to change.
