TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Over the past 377 days, the Montreal Canadiens have accumulated 55 wins. Only two teams, the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, have earned more. That’s a lot of success for the Canadiens to draw confidence from as they trail their second round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0.
The problem is, it’s been 377 days since the Canadiens last beat the Lightning so they face a daunting task now that they have to win four of their next five games against Tampa Bay.
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You don’t expect a confident team to come unhinged the way Montreal did in Game 2 and you have to wonder if an early lead for the Lightning in Game 3 would be enough to sink the Canadiens.
That’s exactly what happened to the Lightning last season when they faced the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Playoffs without Vezina nominee Ben Bishop, long-time heart and soul forward Martin St. Louis, or a healthy Steven Stamkos.
Tampa Bay held home-ice advantage in last year’s series against Montreal and then tossed it away by losing the first two games, just as the Canadiens have done this year.
“We worked so hard to get into the playoffs,” reflected Lightning coach Jon Cooper on Tuesday. “Then to just come in and in two days we were down 0-2 having to go up to Montreal to play; I was probably feeling sorry for myself.”
Of course, the tendency for any coach addressing his team in that situation is to present the positives and inspire belief that a single bounce could reverse fortunes. That’s exactly what Cooper did a year ago, but he admits now it wasn’t genuine.
“I thought that the hill was too big to climb, internally,” he said.
His doubts were confirmed just seconds into Game 3 of the 2014 series when Rene Bourque gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.
The Lightning pulled even in the second period on the power play. Ryan Callahan thought he had given Tampa Bay the lead, but his goal was disallowed because Alex Killorn had interfered with Carey Price. A few minutes later, Stamkos was forced to the sidelines by an Alexei Emelin hit and with the Lightning’s best player in the dressing room, Brendan Gallagher put the Canadiens up 2-1.
It was a series of events that confounded an impending sense of doom for the Lightning, and in the end, the deficit they faced proved too difficult to overcome. Tampa Bay lost the game 3-2 and were swept by Montreal a couple of nights later.
“When you look at it, we were in the exact same position [as Montreal] last year,” Killorn said. “I think [the Canadiens] are going to play desperate hockey.”
Braydon Coburn wasn’t a part of last year’s collapse for Tampa, but if there’s anyone who knows about the mental toughness required to stage a comeback it’s him. Coburn, after all, was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 as they became the third team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win.
Coburn noted the Flyers felt good about the way they played in the three games they lost.
“It all depends how you feel like your game’s going,” Coburn said. “When you’re down 2-0, it can be tough. You gotta be focused, you gotta believe, and you gotta just prepare yourself. I’m sure that’s what Montreal’s doing.”
Canadiens’ coach Michel Therrien said his group was upbeat and confident that if they continued to control play it would lead to a different result. After all, Montreal’s carried the possession advantage at even strength.
“We honestly don’t have that many adjustments to make,” Therrien said.
The fact is Montreal has scored just three goals in two games and none on a power play that’s gone 1-for-26 in these playoffs. Meanwhile, they allowed four power play goals against in Game 2 alone.
Max Pacioretty swears his team can handle this type of adversity, but even if the Canadiens believe in themselves they’re facing a Lightning team that’s prepared for this situation, having been on the other side of the coin one year ago.
“This year, I just always believe that no matter what the situation, we just have a good team and I always feel like we can win the game,” Cooper said. “It’s a pretty good feeling to have.”
It’s a feeling that will only be reinforced if the Lightning can stave off Montreal’s desperation in Game 3. And if they do, the Canadiens will feel the weight of odds stacked heavily against them.
If they don’t feel it already, internally.
