“Adversity Sucks,” But Lightning Finding Their Spark

“Adversity builds toughness,” is a common refrain in sports. Those words are rarely uttered in a positive sense by those mired in things not going in the right direction, and veteran Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper said as much following his team’s game against Vegas at Benchmark International Arena on Sunday.

“Adversity sucks,” Cooper said. “When you are in it, it really sucks.”

And yes, for much of the opening 17 days of the 2025-26 season, things have “sucked” for the Lightning. However, for the third straight game, Tampa Bay played well from an execution standpoint and beat the Golden Knights 2-1 in overtime on a goal from Nikita Kucherov 33 seconds into the extra period. 

“The guys learned a lot about themselves,” Cooper said following the game. “How to deal with tough times when they come.”

This entire season has been filled with “tough times.” The difference is that, through this weekend, the Lightning (3-4-2, 8 points) have found a way to win, as opposed to discovering various ways to lose. 

Through the first six games of this season, the Lightning not only were losing, but they weren’t playing well in doing so. 

In a 3-2 loss to a much-improved Chicago on Thursday, yes, Tampa Bay still managed to lose on a last-minute goal, but at least Cooper’s guys began to play some amount of “winning hockey,” as the coach often refers to his team executing well.

That hope carried over into the weekend, as the Lightning held off a rallying Anaheim team 4-3 before beating the Golden Knights (5-1-3, 13 points). 

“The hockey gods are testing you,” Cooper said. 

That is an accurate assessment, because nothing has come easy, even in the two victories this weekend. 

Tampa Bay allowed the Ducks to score a pair of third-period goals to tie the game at three before veteran center Anthony Cirelli scored with 3:15 left in regulation.

In the win, Anaheim (4-3-1, 9 points) outshot Tampa Bay 40-33, kept the Lightning from scoring on 5 of 6 power plays, and the Lightning did what they could to keep trailing Anaheim alive by committing 23 giveaways. 

“(Tough times) come in all different ways,” Cooper said. 

The two victories have certainly lifted the spirits of the Lightning fan base, which had a touch of panic set in early this season. There are several areas of play that should make Tampa Bay followers feel positive about the direction this team is finally heading.

The Lightning allowed face-off specialist Luke Glendening to leave via free agency this offseason, and no one knew who would step into that role. The answer, primarily, has been Cirelli. 

Cirelli has won 54.2 percent of his match-ups in the circle this season, but that number has been significantly higher over the past three games. 

As well, veterans Oliver Bjorkstrand, who won a late face-off against the Golden Knights, and Zemgus Girgensons, who returned to the ice on Saturday after being injured through the early portion of the season, have fared well in limited action. 

“To be honest,” Cooper said following Girgenson’s first game of the year on Saturday, “you can talk about the new guys, but to have ‘Girgy’ back in our lineup, and what he brought, that might be the biggest step forward we took. 

“I thought he was exceptional.”

Rookie forward Dominic James has done a lot well over the past three games since being called up from Syracuse, and his ability to battle for face-offs is one of those areas. 

Cooper utilized James for a combined 28 minutes in the two weekend games, which showed his confidence in the 23-year-old. 

“That guy can transport the puck up the ice through people,” Cooper said of James following the win over Anaheim. “He took another step forward from the last game.

“He helped us.”

Cooper has not been afraid to play young players such as James, forward Curtis Douglas, defenseman Max Crozier (who is currently injured), and defenseman Charles-Edouard D’Astous. That depth was evident during training camp, and American Hockey League affiliate Syracuse Crunch opening with five wins in six games (the franchise’s best start in three decades) shows the future is bright for the Lightning.  

Few people ever envisioned offense being a struggle for Tampa Bay, but that was definitely the case in the early stretch of games. However, the Lightning are beginning to be more consistent (another favorite word of Cooper’s) with their attack on the net. 

Tampa Bay crushed Vegas, which is also struggling offensively in its last few games, 28-19 in shots on net. The Golden Knights had just eight shots through two periods, which were the fewest in the short history of that franchise. 

The Lightning didn’t outshoot Anaheim, but at least they took shots (33). 

For the season, Tampa Bay ranks 27th in goals scored so far, which is a shocking statistic. 

That statistic goes a long way in explaining why Tampa Bay ranks 24th (16.1 percent) in power play success. However, back to the positive side of things, the Lightning rank fourth in the National Hockey League in penalty kill (90.3 percent). 

Tampa Bay is still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings, along with Boston, with just eight points, but it is a mere one point out of fourth place in the division. 

“A week ago,” Cooper said on Saturday, “we were finding a way to lose that game. Now, we are finding a way to win that game.”

Tampa Bay will visit Nashville (4-4-2, 10 points) at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday.