Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison blogged for NHL.com periodically throughout the Stanley Cup Final. In this final edition, he talks about the difficulty of losing Game 6 to the Chicago Blackhawks, and not winning the Stanley Cup.
CHICAGO -- Man, I don't know, this is tough. This is not the feeling I wanted to feel on this day, that's for sure. It's hard. It's hard to even talk about to be honest.
It stinks, pretty much.
I don't think there is one guy in here that didn't give it their all. Everybody would take responsibility. I heard that Steven Stamkos sat there and answered every last question from the press, putting a lot on him. That obviously says a lot about him.
He is our captain. He is our leader. There's no doubt about that.It's just extremely tough to give it all you've got and still come up short. As I said, it just stinks.
But I have heard guys say in the past that they get this feeling, this awful feeling, and it drives them to get back here, to be better when they do get back here. I anticipate that happening to me, to us. I don't think this group is finished.
You look at the start of the year, a lot of new faces, and I don't think a lot of people had us going this far. We thought that we could, and obviously when you get this far you don't want to look back on that and say, 'Oh, we're just glad to be here.'
We thought that we were good enough to win. It's obviously not the case. It didn't work out like that. But there's no doubt in our minds that we can come back from this, that we can rebound.
Changes will be made. They always are. The team you have this year is never the same as the team you have next year. But with the group of guys that we've got, this is definitely going to have a very sour taste and I'm sure there is going to be a lot of motivation.
It's just too soon to think about that right now.
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL. TV, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2018. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. © Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.