Cooper: Penalties Handed Game 1 to Montreal
TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning dropped its opening game of the postseason on Sunday, 4-3 in overtime against Montreal at Benchmark International Arena. However, the story behind the story wasn’t the obvious, losing the game – it was Tampa Bay’s lack of discipline.
“I had a problem with us,” veteran Lightning coach Jon Cooper said following the game when asked if he took issue with being called for six penalties. “We took four offensive zone penalties, and just look at them.
“That’s not overaggression (on our part). That was stupidity.
Cooper said his team basically handed this one away, as the deciding factor is simple: too many penalties at the worst possible times. If the Lightning give a team like Montreal repeated power plays, they are asking to get burned—and they did.
Jake Guentzel’s penalty in the final seconds of regulation ultimately led to the winning goal.
Here are key takeaways from the defeat:
1. The game swung on special teams
Montreal going 3-for-6 on the power play is brutal for Tampa Bay. Cooper said afterward that killing penalties at 50% isn’t survivable in the playoffs if you’re allowing the opposition five power play opportunities. That’s not bad luck—that’s a structural failure for one night.
2. Undisciplined, not aggressive
There’s a big difference between hard playoff hockey and careless penalties. Offensive-zone penalties (which both Cooper and veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh called out) are killers. They don’t come from effort—they come from poor decision-making. That’s fixable, but only if the players actually adjust.
“The number of penalties we took,” McDonagh said, “is not a recipe for success in the regular season or the playoffs. They were able to run a lot of plays and feel the puck out there. Certainly our penalty kill has to step up and do a better job.”
3. Juraj Slafkovsky took over
A playoff hat trick—including a momentum-shifting late 2nd-period goal—is exactly how a young star announces himself. Tampa didn’t have an answer for him.
4. Tampa showed resilience—but not control
Goals from Brandon Hagel (twice) and Darren Raddysh prove they can generate offense. But every time they grabbed momentum, a penalty gave it right back.
5. The fatal mistake at the end
Taking a penalty in the final seconds of regulation is about as avoidable—and damaging—as it gets. That’s not playoff composure.
Big picture for Game 2:
This isn’t panic time, but it is accountability time. The Lightning don’t need a major overhaul—they need discipline. If they clean that up, they’re still the deeper, more experienced team.
If they don’t? This series could tilt fast.
Game 2 becomes a tone-setter. We’ll find out quickly whether Tampa actually learned anything from this loss—or just talked about it.
Game 2 is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Benchmark International Arena.
