Jon Cooper praises Canadiens’ effort after Lightning blow lead
Jon Cooper was both complimentary and self-critical in his post-game press conference following the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-4 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens Sunday night.
The Lightning head coach, whose team held a 4-1 lead with 10 minutes to go in the third period before giving up three straight goals, including one from Juraj Slafkovsky with four seconds left, says in the NHL, there’s going to be nights when you play very well and don’t get any points, and there will be games where you don’t play very well and get points.
He wasn’t shy about assessing which kind of night it was for his group.
“I think anybody watching this game knows that … the better team that played 60 or 65 minutes tonight didn’t get the two points,” Cooper said. “But am I upset about it? No, because it’s 82 games, man. You need to scrape points any way you can. For a lot of games this year, we’ve walked away from the game scratching (our head) like, ‘How did we not get a point out of that?'”
Cooper, who will be coaching the Canadian men’s national team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, was asked about Slafkovsky, who finished the night with two goals and will be a major factor for Slovakia in Milan.
“I saw up close: He can really shoot it,” he said. “I think it’s a weird league, because … how old was he when he first played, 18? And how old is he now, 21? I feel like he’s been around forever, and he’s just 21 years old. What he does have is the physical attributes to be a dominant power forward, but he’s also got a skill set.”
Cooper also complimented Canadiens’ head coach Martin St. Louis, adding that it “isn’t a fluke” Montreal is knocking on the division lead.
“They’re a team that’s tasted the playoffs, they’ve got young legs and skilled players, and they’re a fun team to watch,” he said. “I think (St. Louis) has done a heck of a job with them, and what he’s brought to the table and how he’s helped these guys play the game. Montreal is not an easy out.”