Jon Cooper reveals Lightning’s ‘villain’ mentality vs. Canadiens

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens are tied after two games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After winning three straight conference titles, the Bolts have lost in the first round in three straight years. This series has been physical and nasty, which Lightning coach Jon Cooper says his team is very comfortable with.

“Somebody’s gotta be the villain, I guess. We’re OK with it,” Cooper said, per The Score’s Josh Wegman. “The guys play hard. They’re a determined group. When there’s obstacles in their way, they’ll try and get through it any way possible. If it’s fighting their way through it, then so be it. That’s what happens. But it’s served us well.”

The physicality and fighting in this series have come from some unique places. Brandon Hagel and Juraj Slafkovsky squared off in Game 2 after both players scored multiple goals in Game 1. Hagel says he’s not the only one in the Lightning locker room fired up to be in this spot.

“Everyone in the room knows we’re good when we play with emotion,” Hagel said. “Not just myself, but guys are willing to try and bring everyone into the fight, and that was what I was trying to do a little bit. Obviously, it worked.”

The series heads back north to the Bell Centre for Game 3 on Friday night. After last year’s playoff disaster, the atmosphere should be insane in hockey’s grandest cathedral after splitting the first two games. It has been made clear that the Lightning and the Canadiens do not like each other, and a building full of fired-up Quebecois hockey fans won’t help.

The Lightning are a veteran-filled group full of playoff frustrations from the last three years. The Canadiens are a young team looking to put together a deep run. They face off in Game 3 on Friday night