Lightning Look To Apply Hard Lessons Learned as the Stanley Cup Playoffs Arrive
- Mike Smith
- 2 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports
On the eve of the Round One matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bolts are focused on entering this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs with one major thought in mind:
Do not repeat the sins of the past three postseasons.
A first-round exit to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023, and two straight first-round exits to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in 2024 and 2025 have left a sour taste in the palate of the entire Lightning team.
Especially bitter was last year's opening-round loss to the Panthers with home-ice advantage.
The Lightning were blown out 6-2 in the first game of the series and lost both opening games at home before being ousted in five.
The lesson is still fresh in their minds as they open their first round series with the Montreal Canadiens Sunday evening, again with home ice advantage.
“The whole series was basically we got s—kicked pretty much every single game,” Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy said. “When the coach gave us the pre-scout, and we go out there and we give up the first two goals right away in the first period, and those two goals were on the pre-scout … But we did exactly that.”
The early jettison from the playoffs for the third consecutive year forced Tampa Bay to look within for another level of toughness this season.
From preseason brawls against Florida to a goalie fight at the Stadium Series game to fisticuffs against Atlantic Division foe Buffalo, the Lightning have upped their physicality in 2025-26.
“It seemed like we were, I don’t want to say scared, but it seemed like we were the smaller guy on the ice,” Hagel said. “I think we’ve done a good job throughout this season showing that we’re not that team. I’m not saying we’re the toughest team in the league, but I always say that we have 25 guys that’ll leave this rink with a black eye."
"When you have 25 of those guys in your dressing room, you’re probably in a good spot.”
A great deal has changed in the mindset of Lightning players since the end of last season, and their optimism was not lost on the media in the locker room prior to Game 1.
"We have the same core guys (as last year), but we have some new guys with us here, which is big," Lightning forward Gage Goncalves said, speaking exclusively to Thunderstruck Sports on Saturday. "I really think we've got that grip back, bringing that emotion to our game, and knowing where and when to let that kind of unleash."
"It was a learning experience last year. We want to take the things we learned from that series (against Florida) and execute it this series."
Lightning Preparing For Much-Improved Canadien Squad
While Tampa Bay plans on coming out of the gate aggressively and looking to outmaneuver the Montreal bench, they also know they have a formidable foe against them on the other side.
Even though they split the season series, 2-2, the two most recent meetings between the teams have gone Montreal's way. They beat the Lightning 4-1 on March 31st and 2-1 on April 9th.
“It’s a great group over there,” McDonagh said of the Canadiens. “They’ve earned the right to be here. They’re well-coached and well-structured, and they have great skill off of that structure. So you try not to give them any freebies, make it hard on them, make them go the full length of the ice. And keep that power play at bay or off the ice with good discipline.”
Special teams will be a key factor in the series. For Tampa Bay to be as physical as they want to be, they need to avoid time in the penalty box. While their penalty kill unit has been good this season, at 82.6% for third place in the NHL behind Colorado and Chicago, too much time in the box can derail their chances of moving on to the second round.
On the other hand, the Lightning need to return to their power-play form during their impressive 21-1-1 run midseason. The Bolts ended the regular season on a 1-for-33 slump on the power play in their last 13 games and dropped to 14th in the NHL with a 20.7% efficiency.
Dominic James Set to Return
Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper told the media on Saturday morning that Dominic James should be able to return to the lineup for Game 1. James has been out at practice recently.
James was injured during a loss to the Buffalo Sabres on February 28th. While battling for a puck along the endboards, he became entangled with Sabres defenseman Michael Kessellring. After getting up, James fell under Kessellring's weight, with his right leg twisting awkwardly.
"That's a big injury that he had," Cooper said when discussing James' potential return. "A lot of times, it's the mental hurdle you have to come over. I'm anticipating he'll be ready."
"He's fast, and we're playing a fast team," Cooper went on to say. "So he's been able to push the pace on whatever line he's been on (in practice)."
"That's something we're looking forward to, and we missed it, there's no doubt."
Will Hedman Be Back For the Lightning This Postseason?
Cooper also spoke about the possible return of Lightning Captain Victor Hedman in the postseason.
Hedman has been away from the team since last playing on March 19th against Vancouver. After being placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) on March 25th, he was eligible to return to action earlier this month.
"Victor's been around us, and he's slowly getting some ice time and stuff like that, and get himself hopefully back," Cooper said Saturday. "We love having him around because he's our captain and he's a wealth of experience. He's going to be with us on this trip."
"He's going to be with us, probably not available (to play) right now. And it's playoff time, so we keep those things close to the vest."
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens face off in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday evening at Benchmark International Arena. Game time is at 5:45 pm.
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