Luc Gélinas unloads on Jon Cooper after Tampa hides Kucherov following Game 1 loss
Photo credit: © Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Luc Gélinas ripped Jon Cooper after Tampa hid Nikita Kucherov post-loss, and that choice made Game 1 feel bigger than one bad night.
Montreal did not just steal Game 1. It pushed a veteran room into damage control.
The Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime on April 19, with Juraj Slafkovsky scoring all three goals. Nick Suzuki had 15 faceoff wins, and Montreal grabbed the series lead on Tampa ice.
That is why Luc Gélinas' shot landed. He was not whining about access. He was exposing a pressure point.
"The Canadiens are sometimes criticized for not making as many players available as people would like… but after the loss, only Hagel and McDonagh spoke to the media in the Lightning locker room."
- Luc Gélinas
- Luc Gélinas
Only Brandon Hagel and Ryan McDonagh spoke in the Lightning room, while Kucherov was unavailable after a game where he still posted two assists.
That matters because stars set the emotional temperature in the playoffs.
"Nikita Kucherov banned from the locker room to speak to reporters."
Jon Cooper And Tampa Bay Lightning Sent A Message
Fans read this stuff fast, and they read it right. Silence after a home loss looks like a team that got stung by Montreal's speed and man advantage.
Cooper can brush off the noise, but the optics are rough. Tampa finished 50-26-6, Kucherov put up 44-86-130, and contenders are supposed to own ugly nights.
Montreal forced that crack by dragging Tampa into a special-teams game. Slafkovsky burned them three times, twice on the power play and once with the winner in overtime.
Gélinas was calling out the contradiction, not chasing a headline.
The Canadiens get roasted for access all the time. On this night, the club that looked smaller off the ice was Tampa.
Game 2 now carries a different smell. If Cooper's room does not answer publicly and on the ice, Montreal will keep owning the frame.
Also read on House Of Hockey :
Tampa Bay fans mocked Canada, then Montreal stole Game 1 in overtime
Tampa Bay fans mocked Canada, then Montreal stole Game 1 in overtime