Saturday, 4 a.m.
These days, they are a rock in water, sinking fast. These days, they are a bird that has forgotten how to fly, falling at an alarming rate.
These days, the Tampa Bay Lighting are a mediocre hockey team trying to find their way.
True, they have won championships in their previous two seasons. More and more, however, that's getting to be old news. The Bolts lost again Friday night, falling 2-1 in overtime to the Boston Bruins. They have now lost 10 times in their last 16 games and four in a row. In nine of those 16 games, the Bolts have scored two goals or fewer.
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How bad has it gotten? So bad that the Bolts continue to preach "process" despite losing. Defenseman Victor Hedman called the latest loss "a step in the right direction" despite the team going 0-for-5 on the power play.
"I thought the process was really good tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Unfortunately, we fell behind. We didn’t like that. You need a push in the third, and I thought we gave it. The puck didn’t go in for us. Sometimes that happens. If you’re going to go through regulation and give up only one goal, you have a chance to get points. Would we have liked two? We would. We got one. Let's take it and move on. Could we have easily gotten two? We could have."
Tampa Bay's only goal on Friday night was by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
The Lightning have fallen to fourth place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
“They’re professional athletes," Cooper said. "They’re used to winning hockey games. When they don’t, it can be frustrating. I would hope the guys would be frustrated."
Charlie Coyle scored the winning goal 3:37 into overtime.
Tampa Bay plays against Buffalo on Sunday at Amalie Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.