Lightning reeling after losing 6 of 7: 'Nobody is going to feel bad for us'

The Tampa Bay Lightning overcame loads of adversity last season en route to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Final.

During the 2015-16 campaign, the Lightning were faced with Jonathan Drouin demanding a trade, obsessive chatter over Steven Stamkos' connections to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Stamkos missing all but one playoff game due to a blood clot.

Through it all, Tampa Bay remained resolute, and were certainly competitive as the tumultuous campaign wore on. This season, however, the Lightning are struggling to overcome a different barrier: losses, and lots of them.

The Lightning begun to tread water after captain Stamkos went down, but were able to string together a few wins. Lately, it's been a different story, as they've dropped six of their last seven games, painfully highlighted by a 5-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

"We can't seem to put it all together," forward Alex Killorn said following the loss. "Guys are working hard to score, but it can't be taking away from our defensive play."

The Lightning have given up 26 goals in the seven-game funk, a frustrating experience for head coach Jon Cooper.

"I don't even remember losing games by four goals. Ever. Maybe one a year," Cooper said, according to Joe Smith of The Tampa Bay Times. "Now we're losing them once a week."

Tampa Bay entered the season with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, but as it stands now, the Lightning sit two points back of third in the Atlantic Division, and three points out of a wildcard spot.

"It's time for us to step up here," netminder Ben Bishop said. "Nobody is going to feel bad for us."

Tampa's next chance to get on track will come Saturday night, as last year's playoff adversary, the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins, roll into town.