As the Lightning losses continue to mount, has it become an accepted part of the season?

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
February 2, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. – Defeated.

It was the result at the end of another Tampa Bay game, a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators in what turned out to be a triumphant return to town for Guy Boucher.

Defeated.

The look of a Lightning team that has just one victory in the past seven games. The look of a team continuing to fall deeper and deeper in to a lost season with no hope of a rescue coming on the horizon.

It’s the look of the team that was on the ice for the final period of Thursday’s game. And very appropriate that on Groundhog Day, it was a similar result because it feels like the Lightning are reliving the same game over, and over, and over, and . . .

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Now, with two months left in a season that looks more and more like it will end in bitter disappointment, the Lightning have to find a way to fight a defeatist attitude that continues to seep in to the body language of many of the players.

”There are 30 games left, we can’t have that attitude that we are getting kicked when we are down,’’ center Brian Boyle said. “I don’t think any other team is feeling sorry for us right now and is going to give us a charity win along the way here. Every game is going to be like this.

“And whether we know it or not, it’s been like this in the past. The intensity ramps up in the second half and then again in the playoffs. We’ve been through that and had team confidence and had guys that had big years and we’ve advanced. We have to know that if we are going to quit, it’s going to get really ugly. We have enough time to do something here, regardless of what the outside thinks there are 30 games left and that’s a lot of points left on the board.’’

Trying to combat the reality of the situation, however, is not that simple. A team predicted to win the Stanley Cup by more than one publication sits almost at the bottom of the conference standings and has better odds at landing a lottery draft pick than a spot in the postseason.

That’s where a defeatist attitude has to be guarded against.

”It’s human nature a little bit in that regard and that’s where you get to see some of the mental fortitude of some of the guys and see where they are at,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “How painful is it at the end of these type of games? Are you mentally and physically exhausted or are guys taking off their equipment and not even having to shower? That’s when you get to see character of what is going on. But the one thing I know of this group, it’s a proud, proud group and there is a reason we’ve won in the past. For whatever reason it’s not happening for us right now. You have to find a way.’’

The fear is, even after so much winning the past three seasons even under some of the crazy and difficult circumstances this team has gone through – severe injuries, trade demands, players sitting out, etc. – is that in a season full of losses, that losing becomes acceptable in some manner. That at the end of another negative result, the reaction is a shoulder shrug and a blasé acceptance of the outcome.

This team feels dangerously close to displaying some of that attitude.

”The results take a toll on you, but just because it gets harder and harder with each loss, it doesn’t mean that it’s okay to say ‘just give it the old college try’,’’ Boyle said. “The worst part about this whole thing is we’ve done it and we can do it again. It’s up to us and we need to understand that. There is not going to be a flip of a switch, it’s going to be a lot of work and a lot of sweat. We’ve been trying to do it. A couple of mistakes have cost us in each game and that’s what is going to happen when you try to be perfect.

”But if you accept losing you are a loser, that’s the bottom line. If you just shrug your shoulders and say that’s the way it is sometimes in the position we are, especially . . . I certainly hope no one feels that way.’’

At times, it looks that way. At times the team looks like the result is accepted.

”You have to keep on working,’’ said center Tyler Johnson, who gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the second period before things fell apart on them again. “It’s one of those things that when you get in to these holes, you get in to this snide, you just have to keep working. There is no special cure, there is no sacrificial thing you can do. You have to keep working, keep on practicing, keep on looking at video and try to improve. And right now we have a lot to improve.’’

There seems to be little to no passion in the Lightning’s game. Occasionally a stick is slammed over the crossbar. Sometimes – such as Victor Hedman’s fight against Marcus Foligno last month – the frustration is taken out physically on an opponent.

But there hasn’t been enough of that. Some guys state they hate losing more than they enjoy winning. Yet, after so much winning over the previous three seasons – four for the members of the 2012 Norfok Admirals – that sort of hatred has not been noticed.

Maybe it’s been going on behind the scenes. Maybe paint has been peeled, maybe equipment has been thrown around. But there’s been no hint of that. Usually somebody will snap at a member of the media. Sometimes the head coach walks in to a postgame press conference and is unintentionally short with a particularly poorly worded question that might be mumbled from the less perceptive members of the media assembled in front of the podium.

That hasn’t happened to this point, which starts to beg the question on whether or not there has been enough accountability to go around.

”Here in Tampa we want a winning team and we are not winning right now,’’ Johnson said. “The guys in this locker, this is our family and this is what we want. We need to play for each other, we need to get out of this together. It’s going to take everybody.’’At this point, has it become too acceptable.

There is no doubt the players care about wins and losses. They’ve come so close to the ultimate prize the past two seasons, losing so much this season can’t be easy to deal with.

But if it’s become acceptable as the clock on the season starts to tick down, then this team has already been defeated before playing any of the final 30 games of the season.

Postgame notes: D Andrej Sustr was a healthy scratch. … D Luke Witkowski returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous three games. … Tampa Bay lost at home in regulation to the Senators for the first time since March 6, 2012, when Guy Boucher was the Lightning head coach.

My three stars:
1.Senators C Mark Stone – Two goals, assist, plus-1, two takeaways

2.Senators D Erik Karlsson – Three assists, plus-2, four blocked shots in 26:18 of ice time

3.Senators C Kyle Turris – Goal, assist, seven shot attempts

Tyler Johnson after the loss

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