Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are down, but not out. What you need to know for Game 3.

By Jason Dill
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Sunday, May 13, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. The Capitals won the game 6-2.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Sunday, May 13, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. The Capitals won the game 6-2. Chris O'Meara Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Lightning's start to the Eastern Conference final with Washington went about as bad as it could.

And as the series shifts to the nation's capital, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper acknowledged the 2-0 deficit when talking about Lightning fans to reporters Monday.

"One thing about our fans and this team, I think we're just a family together," Cooper told reporters. "When something's going great, everybody is happy for everybody in the family. When it's not, I think everybody's down. If there's one thing this team's done is we've kind of ridden the emotion of our fans and tried to pick them up. And they've certainly picked us up."

Hurting aside, here are a couple other Lightning notes as the team heads into a pivotal Game 3 against the Capitals:

  • Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny was fined $2,419.35 for cross-checking Lightning forward Cedric Paquette on Sunday in Game 2, the NHL announced Monday. It's the maximum allowable fine for the offense under the collective bargaining agreement.
  • Lightning center Brayden Point told reporters he wants Tampa Bay to be faster on the forecheck.

This story was originally published May 14, 2018 at 6:00 PM with the headline "The Tampa Bay Lightning are down, but not out. What you need to know for Game 3.."

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