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Lightning Pass Cooper’s Test Against Playoff Caliber Teams

Jon Cooper Tampa Bay Lightning

Many of us still or do shudder at the prospect of taking a test. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, two games against playoff-calibre teams was a test, according to head coach Jon Cooper to see how well the team would perform. The good news is that the team is currently passing Cooper’s test by not only defeating the playoff-bound Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (Jan 23) but following that up with one of their best efforts of the season in defeating the current NHL points leader, the Boston Bruins, on Thursday (Jan 25).

After two disappointing losses to the Bruins in November, the Lightning came out and took care of business against a very good and recently hot team. This is a Boston group that came to AMALIE arena riding a six-game winning streak of their own, going 9-1 in their last 10 games. On the road to their success this season, the Bruins had come into the game with the league’s best average goals scored, the best average goals allowed, and the best penalty kill while boasting the NHL’s second-best power play.

Jon Cooper, Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Much like their effort in the victory over the Wild, the Lightning matched and then exceeded their opponents in executing their game plan. Both the Wild and the Bruins are teams that limit their mistakes, check well, and play with a structure that allows them to maximize their team’s talent. On both nights, the Lightning did all of this just a little better than their opponents. Also, the Lightning overcame some issues that have hindered their efforts in beating playoff-caliber teams this season.

Avoiding Costly Penalties

In matching the franchise record with their 11th-consecutive home victory on Thursday night, the Lightning avoided giving the best power play in the league too many chances, which has plagued them in the past. Going into the Bruins game, only four teams committed more penalties on average than the Lightning, which has put undue pressure on an inconsistent penalty kill unit. After going 1-4 against the Wild, they only allowed the Bruins two power-play attempts, killing off both.


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When losing games, especially against playoff-caliber teams, the Lightning have been guilty of taking penalties at inopportune times, as well as losing their composure and taking unnecessary trips to the box. On Thursday night, the only penalty of that kind came against Mikhail Sergachev, who cross-checked Boston’s Taylor Hall way too many times…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…