Monday, June 27, 2022. 07:00
TAMPA, Fl. – Steven Stamkos was walking very slowly with his head bowed when he entered the interview room.
As soon as the Lightning captain sat up to answer the first question, his tear-filled eyes illustrated, far better than the words he uttered in a dead voice, the crushing agony of a defeat in Stanley Cup final.
“It hurts so badly that I’m sick of it,” Stamkos admitted without hesitation.
This answer and especially the way it was delivered when every word seemed to make the captain suffer called to order those who, like me, believed that having lifted the cup for two consecutive years could easily counterweight to the penalty of having stopped at two wins from a third in a row.
“Perhaps in hindsight we can eventually take comfort in seeing the magnitude of what we have just achieved by getting so close to a third cup, but right now it is impossible. I am so proud of our team. You have no idea how many sacrifices we have made to get here. But despite all that pride, this defeat in the final hurts as much as the first one I suffered in 2015,” Stamkos continued, slowly, very slowly scrolling through his answers.
Stunning medical report
Patrick Maroon was more appalled than his captain when he appeared in front of reporters. The big striker, however, had not only two, but three consecutive conquests, to absorb the pain of seeing a fourth slip through his fingers.
“It doesn’t ease the pain though,” Maroon said, letting tears fall from his eyes without even trying to wipe them away or lower his head to hide them even a little.
“We gave it our all. Absolutely everything. And we should be very proud of what we have achieved. You’ll get a better idea when the team’s medical report comes out. It hurts just to think about it. You will fall on your back when you learn the nature of the injuries that undermined several of our players. And despite those injuries, all those guys wanted to stay in the lineup,” continued Maroon.
A debt to Perry and Bellemare
Maroon is a great friend of Corey Perry in their everyday life, not just in their lives as hockey players. Usually talkative and playful, Maroon became even more emotional when asked how he felt about seeing his pal after losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in Canadiens uniforms last year and of the Dallas Stars two years ago, found himself in the losing camp again for the third year in a row.
“I feel very bad”, which Maroon launched.
He didn’t just feel bad for Perry, but for all of his other teammates who haven’t yet had the chance to lift the Cup in their careers and who believed they had the opportunity to fulfill that dream by joining the Lightning.
“I feel bad for Bellemare – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare his center player in the fourth line – for Riley Nash et Brandon Hagel – both acquired from the Coyotes and Hawks at the trade deadline – for Brian Elliott – the assistant to Andrei Vasilevskiy – and of course for “Pears”. We owe them a championship and I can only hope that we will be back in the grand final again next year and that the feelings will be much better than they are tonight.
Coming down from the platform on which he had just spent ten minutes answering questions from journalists, Maroon found comfort in hugging very tightly without his arms his son who had been waiting for him since the beginning of the period of interview.
He held his son firmly against him for long seconds before finally leaving the interview room.
A memorable club and course
The defenders Victor Hedman et Ryan McDonagh also came to answer questions after the defeat. They also testified how hard the pain of loss was to endure, but the four Lightning players also offered a lot of credit to the new champions.
“They’re a really good team,” Hedman said.
“When you look at our journey, you realize how much we had to fight to get here. We just lost to a club that had the Norris Trophy winner (Cale Makar). In the conference final, we beat the winner of the Vézina trophy (Igor Shesterkin). In the first round, we beat a very good team that included Hart Trophy winner and Ted Lindsay (Auston Matthews),” which Stamkos added.
Beyond the disappointment and pain related to the elimination suffered in six games, Stamkos had nothing to reproach himself for: nor for the 2-1 loss which prevented his team from forcing the holding of a seventh game. No more than in all series.
Sunday in Tampa, Stamkos scored his team’s first – and only – goal. It was the fourth time in the playoffs that the captain scored the first goal of a game. No one has done so much this year.
In addition to an interesting offensive production (11 goals, 19 points), Stamkos was overused and very solid in the face-off circles. He also blocked shots like a support player of which he is a mandate to fulfill and not as a maverick.
In many ways, Stamkos was better or certainly more useful in defeat than he was in back-to-back 2020 and 2021 wins. his captain.
Jon Cooper, who appeared in the interview room surrounded by all his assistants, offered a plea that says a lot about the importance he attaches to the fact that his team has come within two wins of a third Stanley Cup.
“For obvious reasons, we always remember the champion teams. But I will never forget this team, the players who make it up and the team of coaches around me. If we were in the regular season, half of the school club would have been in uniform as we have players who were plagued by injuries. We fought against an extraordinary team. We were in on it. Unfortunately, we lost two games in overtime to finally run out of energy before going all the way,” mentioned Cooper, who finds comfort in the pride that binds his team together.
“I don’t come in front of you with a prepared speech, because I was convinced that we were going to win tonight. Losing sucks. Losing hurts. But we did it as a team. With family. There is not a guy who left the locker room to go home. They will all be here a long time to take the shock together. Coming this far with this team, I can never forget that,” Cooper concluded.
It will be interesting to see how Cooper, his boss Julien BriseBois and the rest of the Lightning staff manage to return to the ice next October a team that can not only aim for a series berth, but perhaps once again ogle top honours.