Defenceman Victor Hedman says the Tampa Bay Lightning will hit back strongly from a 6-2 Game 1 Eastern Conference Final defeat to the New York Rangers.
The Lightning have won the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons and are 1/1 to win the Conference final and 18/5 to three-peat as Champions.
Lightning aiming to emulate Islanders
If Tampa were to win the Stanley Cup again this season, they would become the first team to win it three straight times since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83.
What: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Rangers, Eastern Conference Finals Game 2
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
When: 01:00am, Saturday 4th June, 2022
How to watch: Premier Sports or bet365 Live Stream
Odds: TB Lightning 4/5, NY Rangers 21/20
Hedman and his team-mates brushed aside excuses of a prolonged time out of action after they swept the Florida Panthers in round two and New York needed seven games to beat the Carolina Hurricanes.
Instead, Hedman pointed to their turnovers and poor execution particularly in the second period where they were outscored 3-1 and out-shot 17-10.
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Lightning have record of recovery
And Tampa have no reason to panic, safe in the knowledge that they have gone 17-0 following a loss in the play-offs since the start of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hedman said to the media: "You never want to lose two in a row. So, for us to bounce back is going to be huge.
"On the road again, but at the same time it's going to be big for us. We're a strong group mentally and we'll bounce back."
Thirty-one-year-old Hedman has ten points (two goals, eight assists) in 12 post-season games this season.
The offensive output comes on the back of a regular season where he scored a career high 20 goals, 65 assists for 85 points. He is a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman which he won in 2017.18.
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