Lightning coach Jon Cooper compares Game 7 defeat to losing Olympic gold medal game

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Lightning lost Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, falling 2-1 to end their season.

After the game, coach Jon Cooper was left in a familiar spot, having also coached the losing team in the gold-medal game at the Olympics, according to Arpon Basu and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

“As soon as that last buzzer went, that’s the feeling I had, I’ve seen this movie before,” Cooper said. “All you can ask of your team, whether it was the Olympic tournament or a best-of-seven playoff, is to get better as you go. And I thought we got better as we went. I thought tonight we played our best game of the series. Sometimes you win the game and not the score. But it’s Game 7, there’s no moral victory in that.”

As the coach of Team Canada, he led the team to the gold-medal game against Team USA. The United States took the lead in the first period, but Canada tied it up in the second. Both teams were solid on defense, leading to overtime, where Jack Hughes won the game for the Americans.

In Game 7, it was a similar trajectory. Nick Suzuki scored his first goal of the playoffs in the first period, but Dominic James tied the game for the Lightning in the second. This game would not need overtime, though, as Alex Newhook scored with just under nine minutes left, in what would be the series-deciding goal.  As the Lightning were left stunned after the game, Cooper knew there was not much for him to say.

“It doesn’t matter what you say really. The words probably will mean something in a couple of days, but I think it’s just a lot of blank stares from everybody wondering how that one got away from us,” Cooper said.

As the Lightning’s season has come to an end, the Canadiens move on. They will open their series with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.

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