Burns: 3 Things we learned from a 'damn circus'

After a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina in Game 3, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said the playoffs are "a big, damn roller coaster." A team, its players and the coaches can't get too high after a win and can't get too down after a loss.
So what was Saturday's wild Game 4 and in particular the second period, where the Lightning and Hurricanes combined for eight goals in the period, the Lightning rallying from a 4-2 deficit to score four unanswered goals and win 6-4 to take a 3-1 lead in the series and come within a game of clinching the series and heading to the semifinal round for the fifth time in the last seven seasons?
"That was chaotic," Cooper marveled. "It was a damn circus out there."

There might not have been a more exciting game in Lightning playoff history, at least one that didn't clinch a series or end with the Bolts lifting the Stanley Cup, than what the 13,773 fans inside AMALIE Arena witnessed on Saturday.
"Definitely no refunds after that one," Cooper said. "That was take your coach's hat off, it was one hell of an entertaining second period."
Tampa Bay was in deep trouble down 4-2 at 12:41 of the second period after Jaccob Slavin threw a shot at the net from the left wall and tucked a shot past the ear of Andrei Vasilevskiy. But the Lightning responded with a flurry, Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Steven Stamkos all scoring before the end of the middle frame, Stamkos' goal coming with 23 seconds left before the break, to regain the lead. Then Kucherov wrapped up the comeback with his goal 6:01 into the third to give the Lightning a 6-4 lead and put them on the brink of wrapping up the series potentially in Game 6 Tuesday in Raleigh.
What a comeback.
What a game.
What a series.
But let's hope it comes to an end Tuesday.

1. A FRANCHISE RECORD FOR COMBINED GOALS
Be honest
How many of you thought the Lightning were toast when they went down 4-2 midway through the second period?
(raises hand)
For about the first two-thirds of the second period, Tampa Bay was completely outworked by Carolina. The Hurricanes won seemingly every puck battle and were first to nearly every loose puck.
"They wanted it a little more than we did," Cooper admitted.
Tampa Bay scored the opening goal of the game in the first period, Brayden Point tapping in a shot on the back post to cap off a plethora of scoring chances early for the Bolts.
But in the second, Carolina came to play. The Hurricanes killed off an early penalty to Andrei Svechnikov and then went to work, Teuvo Teravainen tying the game 1-1 after getting loose down low and one-timing Jordan Staal's feed from behind the net past Vasilevskiy.
Just 39 seconds later, Carolina went in front for the first time, Jesper Fast cleaning up the rebound on a shot from the point that bounced off a couple legs in front, tucking his shot past the outstretched left leg of Vasilevskiy to make it 2-1 Canes.
The Lightning briefly stopped the bleeding when Steven Stamkos scored the first of his two power-play goals - the first playoff game of the captain's career scoring multiple power-play goals - but Carolina continued to press. Dougie Hamilton regained the lead for the Canes 41 seconds after Stamkos' goal with a shot from the point that eluded Vasilevskiy. Slavin followed a couple minutes later with his tough-angle shot from the wall, and suddenly it felt like everything the Canes were throwing on net was going in.
The Lightning just weren't very good in the second period up to that point after vastly outplaying Carolina in the first.
"For this whole series, we've competed so hard and just our will has been so strong, but they push back," Cooper said. "It just wasn't good enough, not good enough for us and to win a playoff series, especially against a talented team like that, we can't have efforts like that."
Steven Stamkos said the talk on the bench down two goals and with everything going against the Bolts was to stay in the moment.
"At that point when you're down two, you just want to make sure you get the next goal, and that's what we did," Stamkos said. "We've been in multiple situations throughout the runs that this core has been here for, and we've seen it all. Nothing's really going to surprise this group. I think we at that point have to realize why you're down and change some things on the fly, and I thought we did that with our competitiveness and we started winning some more battles."
The Lightning benefitted from an ill-advised hooking call on Jake Bean to go back on the power play, and Nikita Kucherov took over from there, rifling a shot from the top of the right circle that beat Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek high to stem the Canes momentum and get the Lightning within a goal.
"Special teams was big," Stamkos said. "We didn't get frustrated after the first couple power plays didn't go our way. We had some more opportunities, and all you can do is capitalize. We did, and it brought us back in the game."
A little over two minutes later, Tyler Johnson scored from nearly the exact same spot as Kucherov, beating Mrazek with a similar shot to level the score and send the AMALIE Arena crowd into delirium.
But the Bolts weren't done.
And somehow there were still more goals left in the period.
Right before the break, the Bolts went back on the power play, the Canes continuing to gift the Lightning by taking multiple unnecessary penalties. Victor Hedman swept a puck back into the zone at the blue line to get the Canes scrambling. Kucherov took possession in the right circle, passed to a wide-open Stamkos in the left circle, and Stamkos did what he does best, hammering a one-timer to bring the Lightning all the way back in front 5-4.
"We were fortunate to have the lead (going into the second intermission)," Cooper admitted.

2. JOHNNY B. GOODE
This season has been one of, if not the most difficult of Tyler Johnson's career, the Lightning forward being relegated from a top six role to centering the fourth line, seeing his time on ice and responsibilities reduced.
That came after an offseason of speculation he would be traded as the Lightning searched for ways to get under the salary cap, a problem that was alleviated when Nikita Kucherov was forced to undergo hip surgery in the offseason and missed the entire regular season. Then there was the season opener when Johnson had to be placed on waivers along with Luke Schenn in another effort by the Bolts to get cap compliant.
Through it all, Johnson never complained, outwardly at least. He took the demotions in stride, put his head down and continued to hone his craft.
"Not a lot of people see what goes on behind the scenes, especially this year with how tough it has been for Johnny with all those rumors and everything happening, the waivers, he just comes to the rink and he puts in the work," Stamkos said.
In Game 4, Johnson's tireless work ethic paid off in maybe one of the most satisfying goals of his career. A proven playoff performer who's scored multiple iconic goals in Lightning postseason history, Johnson got the Lightning back on his level terms with his snipe bar down over the glove of Mrazek at 17:10 of the second period, the fourth line all playing a vital role in Johnson's tying goal.
Cue Johnny B. Goode
"He's been a huge part of this team for a really long time and had some unbelievable playoff runs with us and scores another big playoff goal for us tonight," Stammer said. "You give all the credit to him because he's going out there doing whatever it takes to help our team win. That attitude is contagious in the room when you see a veteran guy like that who's done so much for this team and organization playing a reduced role, but big moments he's stepping in there and delivering so that was huge for us tonight."
Cooper said Johnson has had an exceptional playoffs so far, better even than his postseason last year during Tampa Bay's run to the Stanley Cup when he was mostly on the second line.
"That was a monster goal," Cooper said. "If there's one guy that's faced Mrazek a lot in his career in the playoffs, it's Tyler Johnson, and he scored some huge goals against him in big moments, none other than the one he scored tonight. It was a big goal for us to claw back into this."
Johnson, always the humble, team-first guy, didn't want to draw attention to himself in the post-game media about his goal, instead talking about the work his fourth line did and how it felt good to be able to contribute.
"We're just trying to do whatever we can to help the team," he said.

3. THE DAGGER GOAL
After the back-and-forth second period, the Lightning got back to their defensive structure in the third and zeroed in on limiting Carolina's scoring chances, which were plentiful in the middle frame but dried up in the third.
The Hurricanes were held to just two shots on goal through the first 16 minutes of the final period.
"I really liked the way we played in the third period," Alex Killorn said. "We have to kind of use that and harness that and play that way the entire game. When we have the lead, I think we play really structured hockey. And it's not that we're sitting back, we're being aggressive, but you just have to be in the right spots. You have to have good positioning, good structure, and I thought for the most part in the third period it was really good. Hopefully we can do that for an extended period of time."
You got the sense the next goal might be the most pivotal in the game, and Nikita Kucherov provided it for the Lightning 6:01 into the third to put them ahead 6-4 and give them a two-goal cushion.
After Ondrej Palat forced a turnover at his own blue line, Palat led a 2-on-1 rush into the zone and dished off to his right for Kucherov just after crossing into the zone. Kucherov didn't hesitate, taking the shot as soon as he got the puck from the top of the right circle, catching Mrazek off guard and beating the Canes goalie five-hole.
Kucherov said following the game he was trying to elevate his shot, but his glove slipped as he shot and he ended up sliding one through Mrazek.
"I was just trying to catch him off guard," Kucherov said. "I don't think any goalie expects that shot coming from that far. I knew it was going to take him a little bit while to get to the left side and I was trying to surprise him and see what happens."
Up now by two goals, the Lightning were able to really settle into their defensive structure and see the victory over the finish line. As back-and-forth as the second period was, the third was a clinic in how to defend and manage a game with a lead for the Lightning.
"That's a big-time goal," Cooper said. "I think with the chaos that happened in the second period, it's a one-goal game, the next one was the big one of the game, and we were fortunate enough to get it."
Kucherov finished with two goals and an assist and continues to pace the NHL playoffs for scoring with 17 points. He's aiming to become the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1991 and 1992 to finish as the playoff scoring champion in back-to-back postseasons. He had 7-27-34 pts. in 25 games to help the Lightning lift the cup last postseason.
Cooper said after the Game 4 win Kucherov might have taken the game over.
"There was a point in the second period, clearly we had lost control of the second period a little bit and he'd been kind of hit in a tough manner by one of their guys and he just channeled all of his energy the right way," Cooper said. "It was a 5-on-5 shift, and he was just a beast out there. And then we had our power-play opportunities, and he was just making plays all over the place. But I thought he might have been the best player on the ice tonight. When Kuch's doing some of the stuff he was doing tonight, he's borderline unstoppable. It was great to see him do what he did tonight because we definitely needed him."