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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: LIGHTNING v PENGUINS

May 22, 2016

Jon Cooper

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Game Five

Tampa Bay – 4
Pittsburgh – 3

Q. I'm just curious, is that how you draw up the game plan, give up a goal with .7 seconds left in one period, another last minute goal, and then come back and win it in overtime? What does that tell you about what this team is about?
COACH COOPER: The one thing, I get to watch them 100-plus times a year. So it's a lot of fun to be their coach. I'm not saying they don't give you ulcers, but they just -- there's a quiet calm about that group, and even when we're sitting there, we're down 2-0 midway through the game, there was just -- there wasn't panic. There wasn't anything going on on the bench other than let's just get the next one. Let's just get the next one.
When we came back to tie it, even though they scored late to go into the lead, we've just been in this situation too many times. You look at the Islanders series, that's all they were talking about. It's a 60-minute game. It doesn't matter -- obviously, it matters when you get scored on late, but we just felt like we're playing well, we're in this game.
There's just a lot of confidence in that group, and they knew what they were doing.

Q. Coach, when that puck gets (indiscernible) and Callahan shoots and half the building thinks it's going in and half the players think it's going in, can you really feel the momentum turning towards your team?
COACH COOPER: The one that didn't count? It was weird too because, when it makes that kind of noise, you think there's a chance that that's in the net. We got the word early that it wasn't in, but, again, the guys are -- it was just another step, another step toward scoring, another step.
It's hard to explain, but it didn't matter that it didn't go in. That group knew, the way we were playing and the way we were pushing, we were getting chances.
You know, there was one -- there was another one from Callahan, he took a shot, and I think it went -- it was hard to tell, but it went through Fleury, and it was kind of sitting there. Just every one of those was just another -- it was like we were climbing a mountain, and we were just taking every step, every step, and fortunately for us, we got to the top.

Q. Coop, for whatever reason, you've been able to finish these overtime games off pretty quickly in this postseason. Is that a message you're sending in the locker room that you want to end these games fast?
COACH COOPER: I told the guys I've never seen a team that likes to play overtime so much but doesn't like to play it for very long. It is kind of remarkable that the games have ended as fast as they have, but being around the game a bit, that's when it happens.
You know, you look back, there's a lot of games in overtime that end quick, and you have to be ready. We learned our lesson from the last time we were here, when they beat us in overtime. You can't sit here and say, okay, this is another period. It's like another shift. There is no time left. You get scored on with .7 seconds left, well, boys, we've got 40 minutes left to get back into this. But you get scored on in overtime, there's no second chance, and you have to come out ready to go.

Q. You were talking about Kucherov the other day, and you mentioned how he wasn't scoring, but he was being dangerous with those chances. I don't know how there's a more dangerous player in the playoffs with this game on the line, like him in these last couple rounds. What is it about him that he'll score these big goals in key moments?
COACH COOPER: Well, with him, I truly believe, when you're a rising star in this league, as he is, and he's one of those guys for our team -- every team's got one of those guys at some point. It just seems the bigger the moment, the bigger they rise to the occasion. He is proving that last year wasn't a fluke, and he is -- he's just a gifted, skilled, determined player. He's really a pleasure to coach.
The one thing, we talk about his goals and everything about that, but I think he's plus 17 in the playoffs. That's you're not just being responsible and scoring on one end. That means you're being responsible on the other end too. I don't think guys like him get enough credit for how they play the whole ice, and he's a big time player for us.

Q. Coach, when you found out they were going to play a goaltender that hadn't played since March 31st, hadn't started a game since March 31st, what was the message?
COACH COOPER: Well, this is a Stanley Cup champion. He's been an outstanding goaltender in this league for a long, long time. The one thing I don't think -- you can't change the way you play because another goaltender is going in. I don't think that's anything that can go into the mindset.
The only thing we really knew is he hadn't played a lot. He played one period against us, and I think it takes time for the guys to get the feel for the game. But he's a big time goaltender, and he's proven that throughout his career.
You're not just facing the goaltender, though. You're facing the Pittsburgh Penguins. He's one player on their team. You have to beat their team. It's not just beating one guy. So whoever's playing in net doesn't matter to us. Somehow, no matter who's in there, you've got to find a way to beat him, and we did that tonight.

Q. Jon, maybe a minute or two before the game-tying goal, Andrei made a big save on a backhand by Chris Kunitz. Do you recall the save? And in retrospect, how critical was it?
COACH COOPER: Do I recall the save? He's made a lot of critical saves for us so -- the one thing about your goaltender, and we talk about with our guys, is you don't necessarily have to win every game, but just give your team a chance to win the game. And Vasi has given us a chance to win every single game, and if we lost the game, it wasn't on him, it was on us in front of him.
When your goaltender is kicking them out, and when you do make a mistake or they make a heck of a play, because they're a really good team, when your guy's kicking them out, you just kind of grow a little bit taller on the bench, and that's what he's done for us.

Q. Jon, you were talking about teams learned a lot from last year when they went to the Stanley Cup final. To you now, that learning curve that they went through, is this a much better finishing team than it was a year ago? Because you've been able to do it not only at home but on the road, these games?
COACH COOPER: Well, we've got a better record right now than we did last year. Last year, a lot of our series went six and seven games. It was just a grind out and just finding ways to win games.
Let's pump the brakes a little bit here. There's still more series left. We feel good and fortunate that we're up 3-2 and going home, but we still have to win another game. But in saying that, the more times you get put in these situations and you're behind the wheel navigating what's going on out there, the better you are to handle them, and I think our guys are doing a heck of a job this year handling all sorts of situations, whether it's injuries, being down, being up, just the list goes on. The guys have really matured as a group on how to win hockey games.

Q. Tyler Johnson, before the last game, gets the puck in the mouth, plays with a full cage, whatever, then comes back with a half cage today, (indiscernible) today, in front of the net, puck hits him somewhere else and goes in, just kind of the player that he is, going in front of the net, getting those (indiscernible) like that?
COACH COOPER: He's a winner. That's what winners do. They don't back down. And when there's a challenge ahead of you, you've got to find a way to meet that challenge. Tyler Johnson (indiscernible) in that well before he came to the Tampa Bay Lightning. And I was extremely fortunate to watch him do what he's doing now in the American League, and Bill Peters got to see the same thing in Spokane. Oh, my gosh, who was his World Junior coach? Nail it. Who got it? Come on, somebody.
Anyway, there's a lot of coaches that had a front row seat. Did somebody get it?

Q. (No microphone)?
COACH COOPER: Yeah. But front row seat to see how this kid plays and how he competes, and it's not always the size of the player, it's the size of the heart, and that's Tyler Johnson.

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