Lightning embrace challenge of being down 0-2 in Eastern Conference Final

The Tampa Bay Lightning are down 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Final and not much has gone right for the Bolts through the first two games against Washington.
But if there's reason for optimism for Tampa Bay as the series shifts to Washington, D.C., it's this: The Lightning have been a pretty good road team this season and have played some of their best hockey in opposing rinks during the playoffs.

Tampa Bay set franchise records for road wins (25), road points (53) and road goals (145) during the 2017-18 regular season. The Lightning carried that road success into the playoffs, where they've won three in a row away from AMALIE Arena, including two in Boston to take control of the Second Round series, and are 3-1 on the road overall this postseason, that .750 win road playoff win percentage second best in the National Hockey League.
The Lightning know a win in Game 3 tonight in Washington D.C. will get them right back in the series. They're focused on forgetting the first two games in the series and putting all their effort on coming out of Capital One Arena with a victory in what's become pretty much a must-win Game 3.
"We're excited to get back on the ice," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. "We can't change the results. We're down in a hole but we've got the guys that can climb out of it. It's been proven before teams can come back from 0-2 after losing the first two on home ice. We're confident that we're a group that can do it. It's all about focusing on what we can control and that's the game tonight. We've got to make sure we get a good result tonight."

Added Tyler Johnson: "Our team's a bunch of competitors. We hate to lose more than we like to win. Going down 2-0 like that is really frustrating. People are really upset about it. A lot of guys, we've looked at a lot of different video, looked at things that have worked and what hasn't been working and we've tried to come together and figure this out. Now, it's about putting it to the test and getting ready for this game."
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper senses a different mood around his team since the series has shifted to Washington. During Monday's off day, he said his team was angry more than disappointed with the outcome of the first two games. Now he senses his group is ready for the challenge a 0-2 hole and a hostile environment tonight presents.
"I think we've identified what we have to do better," Cooper said. "There's just been a lot of chatter in our room about how we have to elevate our game and technically some of the things we have to do better. It's not brain surgery. We've got to go out there and play hockey and play the way where we're making them have to make quick decisions, decisions they don't want to make, making them play D so that when they go play offense, they're playing on tired legs. And we just haven't been doing that. That's actually been us. And we've got to kind of reverse that trend."
Part of what the Lightning need to do better to find success against the Caps is to get its forecheck going again. During the Second Round versus Boston, the Bolts' forecheck controlled the series, especially from Game 3 on, creating turnovers and providing countless scoring opportunities just with their relentless, never-give-up-on-the-play aggressiveness. That forecheck hasn't been seen in the Washington series, and it's allowed the Caps to break out of their own end effortlessly, which in turn has allowed them to enter the offensive zone with speed and numbers.
A lot of the defensive issues that crept into the Lightning's game toward the end of the regular season, namely defensive zone coverage and too many odd-man rushes given up, have reappeared because of the ease and momentum the Caps have been able to generate getting into the zone. And that all stems from a lack of an effective forecheck by the Bolts.

Another change the Lightning would like to see is to play with the lead. The Bolts took their first lead in the series at 10:22 of the first period of Game 2 on Steven Stamkos' power-play marker, but that 2-1 advantage lasted all of 12:28 until Devante Smith-Pelly leveled the score early in the second period. When the Caps have to play from behind, their structure changes, and that's something Cooper feels the Lightning can take advantage of.
"When they do have the lead, they sit back, you have to go through four guys," Cooper said. "They all can skate, they're all angling, they're all in lanes and it makes it tougher. When they don't have the lead, they're a little more loose in the way they play. They don't sit back as much. They're not waiting for you to make the mistake because they're trying to create offense themselves. So, if you want to have a chance to kind of open things up for yourself, make sure you get the lead."
The best road hockey teams are the ones that play a simple game. The Lightning will try to get back to basics, and, in turn, get back in the series, with a much-needed win tonight."
"We're a pretty optimistic group," Lightning forward Alex Killorn said. "We know we've dug ourselves a pretty big hole here, but we're not worried about what we've done in the past. We can't control that. Those two games are done. What we can control is tonight. We're not worried about anything else other than tonight."