The Lightning’s practice Monday morning was a very optional one, with there almost as many coaches on the Amalie Arena ice as players (mostly scratches).
There was no bag skate, no “back to basics” drills put on by coach Jon Cooper the day after a frustrating 2-1 loss in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup semifinals.
Most of the work by the defending Cup champions was done in the video room, where the group dissected what they did wrong (poor puck management, decision-making) and what they missed out on (shooting opportunities, including by defensemen).
“We have the recipe,” Cooper said. “We didn’t follow the directions right.”
The Lightning have been really good at making adjustments in the playoffs, as evidenced by them not losing back-to-back games in the last two postseasons. They lost Game 1 against both Boston and Dallas in last year’s Cup run before going on to win both series.
