'Somebody's Got To Be The Villain': Why The Lightning Believe They Can Bully Their Way To A Stanley Cup
If you can't beat them, then join them. Or, at the very least, steal their shtick.
That appears to be the game plan of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who after getting their teeth kicked in by the Florida Panthers in last year's playoffs have taken a page out of the two-time defending champs' bloodied notebook and become the bad boys of the NHL this season.
As Lightning coach Jon Cooper said following a 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2, "Somebody's got to be the villain."
Not The Wright Choice? Slafkovsky Showing Habs Why He Was Picked No. 1 Overall
Juraj Slafkovsky's hat trick in Game 1 of the playoffs was more proof he's a big-time player. The Montreal Canadiens drafted him first overall in 2022 instead of longtime projected No. 1 Shane Wright.
In other words, don't expect things to simmer down for Game 3. If anything, the Lightning have figured out what works and are more likely going to double down with the extra-curricular activity.
After all, it's what has got them to this point.
While Tampa Bay was able to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 by relying on its speed and skill to intimidate the opposition, the Lightning have evolved their game over the years as their roster has gotten older and a bit slower.
Two years ago, Tampa Bay ranked 16th in the league with 666 penalty minutes. This year, the Lightning nearly doubled that total and finished with an NHL-high 1,207 PIMs - 229 more than the next-highest team and twice as much as the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
For Tampa Bay, there's clearly a blueprint that their following.
Last year, Florida won the Cup after first racking up an NHL-leading 843 penalty minutes in the regular season and then a playoff-leading 374 PIMs in 23 games. In 2023-24, the Panthers finished second in the league with 1,106 PIMs and then led the playoffs with 281 PIMs in 24 games. In 2022-23, Florida lost in the final while putting up 379 PIMs in 21 games.
Time For A Big Change In The Canadiens' Line Up
It's time for Montreal Canadiens' coach Martin St-Louis to show that he can hold his players accountable and bring a deserving player into the lineup. Kirby Dach has played himself out of contention.
Notice a pattern? The Lightning sure did.
After Anderson knocked Tampa Bay's Charle-Edouard D'Astous out of Game 1 with a nasty hit, Cooper inserted Scott Sabourin, who had 89 penalty minutes in 26 games this season, into the lineup for Game 2. The result was a battle where there were a combined 77 hits and 23 players from both teams spent time in the penalty box.
"We're ok with it," Cooper said of the physicality that has so far defined the series. "The guys play hard. They're a determined group. And when there are obstacles in the way, they'll try and get through it any way possible. And if it's fighting their way through it, that's what happens. But it's served us well. It's got us in a playoff spot."
Trying to bully your opponent can, of course, come with its challenges.
In Game 1, the Lightning were undisciplined and the Canadiens made them pay for it, scoring three power play goals, including the overtime winner. In Game 2, Tampa Bay once again played with fire, but got lucky as Montreal's power play only went 1-for-4.
"It's not the ideal recipe," Cooper said, "but it's one less penalty than we took the night before. So if we can keep doing that, by the time we get to Game 6 we should be ok."
The Hockey News
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 6:48 AM.