As rivalry with Canadiens grows, Lightning embrace role of bad guys

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Apr 22, 2026

Published in Hockey

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TAMPA, Fla. — After the Tampa Bay Lightning’s last game at the Bell Centre, coach Jon Cooper was frustrated that it seemed like every time the officials separated a big scrum, they’d send an extra Lightning player to the bench or hand out an extra penalty to Tampa Bay.

In that April 9 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the teams combined for 31 penalties and 126 penalty minutes. The Canadiens had seven power plays; the Lightning had four.

“I was probably even more surprised how they got put on the power play six times in a row,” Cooper said that night, giving a long sigh. “We must have been, I guess, the aggressors, apparently.”

Less than two weeks later, the Lightning no longer are claiming innocence.

They have fully embraced their role of being the bad guys. As their best-of-seven, first-round Stanley Cup playoff series heads to Montreal for Friday’s Game 3 with the series tied 1-all, the bully Bolts are quite the story.

“Somebody’s got to be the villain, I guess,” Cooper said after the Lightning’s 3-2 overtime win in Game 2 at Benchmark International Arena. “And we’re OK, we’re OK with it.”

In that last game in Montreal, the Lightning wanted to send some messages to set up their likely postseason meeting, but they put themselves at a major disadvantage by having to kill off 14 minutes of Canadiens power-play time. While the game was decided in 5-on-5 on Juraj Slafkovsky’s goal with four seconds left, it became clear that night that both teams were willing to go to the penalty box in order to show their physicality.

Now, with the series going back to Montreal, that storyline has only grown stronger.

“We’ve talked about it a lot, when we’re playing with that emotion and that passion, kind of that love of the game, when it really comes out, it brings the best out of our team,” Lightning forward Gage Goncalves said. “So we’re gonna have to do that. We’re definitely gonna have to keep it in check at times — not get too high or too low — but I know we have a lot of wily vets in there that they know how to settle us down pretty quick.”

After a relatively tame series opener, the Lightning set a physical tone in Game 2 in a first period that included 16 penalties and took nearly an hour to complete. They intensified that approach as the game went on as Brandon Hagel dropped Slafkovsky with an overhead hook in the second period.

Coming out of a first-period scrum that began when Josh Anderson tried to intercept Hagel after the whistle and far away from the play, the Lightning emerged from the fray with an extra penalty when Corey Perry received a double minor.

Montreal would then tie the score on the ensuing power play after a goal by defenseman Lane Hutson.

Asked about his postgame comments after the last game in Montreal, and how they came away from that Game 2 scrum with an extra penalty, Cooper was far more diplomatic as the Lightning enter a Game 3 that could feature a similar level of sandpaper.

“I can’t sit here and complain that we have the extra guy taken every time,” Cooper said. “We’ve deserved it, at times. I can’t sit here and say we haven’t. Do I think there’s situations where maybe they’ve let some slide on their end? There’s no question.”

Cooper did note that the officials gave Montreal defenseman Arber Xhekaj an extra penalty following his tussle with Yanni Gourde on the first scrum of the night in Game 2.

“But I can’t sit here and say we’re getting pulled out of a scrum,” Cooper said. “So it’s not like it’s completely one-sided, but it does feel that times it’s a little more us.”

So far this series, the power plays have been nearly even — Montreal has had nine and the Lightning eight — but special teams have played a huge role through two games. Montreal has scored four of its six goals on the power play, and there were nearly 14 minutes of special teams time in Game 2 after almost 15 in Game 1.

Whether that continues throughout the series remains to be seen, but the Lightning go on the road embracing the role of bad guys now more than ever.

“I know everybody loves being the hero, but it’s almost more fun to play the villain sometimes,” Goncalves said. “So, yeah, we’re excited to have that role. ... if you get booed or you get cheers, you get to hear it all. It gives you energy. And they’re passionate fans, as they should be. They have a great hockey team over there, so I know all of us are super excited to go in there and play.”

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