The Tampa Bay Lightning believe. They have to.
Dealt back-to-back massive injury blows to defenseman Anton Stralman and captain Steven Stamkos, the Stanley Cup finalists know they will be receiving no pity. In fact, they welcome the challenge before them.
"This is our group now," forward Alex Killorn said before Monday's loss 5-2 to the New York Islanders, writes NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "We have to win with this group. The belief is strong. It's always strong. Those guys are huge parts of our team, but we still believe in this group that we have right now."
The Lightning no doubt miss Stamkos and his 36 goals and based on Monday's performance, they're going to have to shift their mindset to their own end, according to head coach Jon Cooper.
"We didn't think about our net," Cooper said, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith. "That's it. This had nothing to do with Ben (Bishop). This had everything to do with the quality of chances we gave up. It's too bad."
The Lightning were outshot 36-24 as the Islanders were playing with a lot more desperation, fighting for their postseason lives. Tampa Bay will look to rebound Tuesday in New York where a point against the Rangers will send the Lightning back to the playoffs for a third straight season.
The Lightning played one of their best games of the season Saturday, according to Cooper, who wondered whether the Stamkos news - he had surgery for a blood clot in his arm - made his team more focused on the task at hand. On Monday, the news might have settled in.
"It's a lesson," Cooper said.
It's been a season full of them in Tampa Bay.
"We just played the other night without (Stamkos and Stralman) and things were OK. It's tough to go on a four-game road trip and lose the first one, but there's always tomorrow."
Until the playoffs.
