Lightning remain the constant as Atlantic Division hierarchy shifts with rise of Sabres, Canadiens
BUFFALO, N. Y. (AP) — There’s a neck-and-neck, three-way race for the Atlantic Division title, and the only person seemingly not buying into the buzz might be Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper .
Emerging from the Lightning locker room before playing at Buffalo on Monday night, Cooper shook his head in mock dismay upon seeing the larger than usual crowd of reporters awaiting his arrival. “Ugh. Why are there so many people here?
” Cooper asked with a wink. “It’s Game 77 folks, not Game 83. ” Point taken from a two-time Stanley Cup-winner overseeing a team that’s already clinched its 12th playoff berth over his 13-year tenure in Tampa Bay.
As much as Cooper can appreciate the importance of a late-season outing between two budding Atlantic Division rivals jockeying for playoff positioning, it doesn’t match the ramped-up intensity that follows an 82-game regular season. “It’s Game 77. I think both teams accomplished their goals for the year in regard to the regular season,” he said, before the Lightning’s 4-2 loss .
“It’s just I don’t put a ton of stock into it. The stock was made of making the final eight (in the Eastern Conference), and we did that. ” Tell that to the upstart Sabres and their revitalized fanbase celebrating a team finally snapping an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought .
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