Notebook: Bolts resting up, preparing for move to Edmonton bubble

While the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers finish their Second Round series - the Islanders hold a 3-2 lead with Game 6 on Thursday - the Tampa Bay Lightning sit inside their rooms at Hotel X inside the Toronto bubble and wait to find out their Eastern Conference Final opponent.
The Lightning aren't sure yet when they will travel to Edmonton, where the final two rounds of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be played. Bolts head coach Jon Cooper said there are a number of "kind-of scenarios" that depend on how long the Islanders-Flyers series lasts as well as the two Western Conference Semifinals, which have both gone to six games too. Cooper hinted there was a scenario where the Eastern Conference Final could start in Toronto before moving to Edmonton.
So, for now, the Lightning will get some much-needed rest.

"Just like the times, a lot of uncertainty," Cooper said of his team's future schedule during a media availability Tuesday. "It's nice to be in our spot right now and not have to stress about stuff for the next day or two."
When the Lightning do leave for Edmonton, it will be with somewhat reluctantly. Hotel X has been their home for over five weeks. The players raved about the facility, its amenities and their setup inside the Toronto bubble when they first arrived. The hotel has a floor with tennis and pickleball courts, which the players and staff have used frequently judging from their Instagram feeds.

BMO Field is next door to the hotel. The players can walk over to the football/soccer stadium and kick a soccer ball into the nets, throw footballs, baseballs, play spike ball. The NHL has games from other series up on the stadium's video board.
"We've been here for over a month and you're familiar with everybody, you know where to go," Cooper said. "You want to go for a walk outside, you can. You're familiar in your surroundings."
Of course, waking up every day in the same hotel room and seeing the same view outside your bedroom window can take its toll too. Maybe getting used to a different setup in Edmonton, exploring a new hotel and just seeing other faces can have a rejuvenating effect as well.
"We will see something new: new areas, new hotel, new rink," Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak said. "It's going to be a little bit different, and I think time will go a little bit faster there."
Cooper said moving to Edmonton has meaning too because it represents being one of the final participants in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It kind of says to you, 'Hey, you're in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but now you've advanced and this is the venue you go to when you've moved on and you're in the final four,' Cooper said. "I don't know. I don't know which one's going to work. But, for us, it's all about the rest, and pretty sure we're going to be on an even playing field and travel with whoever we're playing. I'm just happier about the break, but I don't know if there's going to be a mental advantage of traveling or not."
NO KUCHEROV UPDATE: Jon Cooper did not have an update on Nikita Kucherov's status when he spoke with media Tuesday, saying the team had the day off and he hadn't seen a lot of the players.
Cooper did not hold media availability Wednesday.
Kucherov, the Lightning's second leading scorer in the playoffs, took a high stick from Zdeno Chara in the first period of Tampa Bay's clinching Game 5 win against Boston on Monday. He returned for the second but didn't finish the period and remained out for the rest of the game.
HEDMAN THE HORSE: Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman broke his own franchise record for most goals in a playoff season when he netted his fifth goal of the 2020 Playoffs, which came in overtime of Game 5 to clinch the Second Round series and eliminate the Bruins from the playoffs.
Hedman is driving the offense from the back end for the Lightning with a team-high-among-defensemen nine points this postseason while headlining a defense corps allowing just 2.31 goals per game, third fewest among remaining playoff teams.

Zach Bogosian was asked during Wednesday's media session what he's learned since becoming a teammate of Hedman that he didn't realize when he played against him. Bogosian, the third overall pick of Atlanta in the 2008 Draft, entered the NHL a year before Hedman and has had plenty of battles against the Norris Trophy finalist over his career, especially within the Atlantic Division when he spent parts of six seasons with Buffalo.
"Anytime you get a package like Heddy that's that big and can skate, shoot, play physical, block shots, he's a horse out there," Bogosian responded. "He's always looking to attack the game whether it's offensively or defensively, (having) such a big body adds a unique skill set in itself just for how he can play the game. I would assume it's probably hard for forwards and forechecking guys trying to get the puck off of him. He's just so big and can move. He can do it all."
PLENTY OF TIME TO PREPARE: Cooper said he'll watch the remainder of the Islanders-Flyers series but not necessarily to figure more out about his team's next opponent.
"I think there's nothing that the Islanders or Philadelphia could do right now, I could recite their lines, their aces, everything that's going on with how they play, and they could do the exact same thing with us," Cooper said.
Being inside the bubble for so long has meant more time scouting teams and trying to pick apart their tendencies. During a normal playoff run, there are opportunities to get away from the game, whether through travel, off days, golf outings, etc. But this postseason, with nowhere to go, there's not much to do but watch hockey.
Like, all the hockey.
"When the games were three a day, that's all you did was watch the games," Cooper said. "There's often times (in past playoffs) you wouldn't catch games out West or you'd be so focused on your series or you'd be traveling, whatever was going on in your routine in the playoffs. It doesn't really happen here. You're pretty much watching hockey all the time. I don't think there's going to be any surprises for us or for our opponent in regards to us."