The Tampa Bay Lightning fell in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday, thanks in large part to special teams, according to Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.
"In the end, penalties hurt us," Cooper said, according to Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski. "It's not on the scoreboard, but it sucked the momentum out of us."
While the Lightning penalty kill was perfect in fending off five Pittsburgh Penguins power plays, the Lightning took six penalties, compared to Pittsburgh's three, including four in the second period.
"I don't know if we had 20 minutes of power play in this series, and I guarantee they had well over 40," Cooper said in a press conference. "When you're killing that much, it's just momentum killers for you, and that hurt us in the second period for sure."
The penalties also hurt as they kept Lightning captain Steven Stamkos off the ice. The 26-year-old - who returned from an eight-week absence - saw zero minutes of penalty kill time.
