Tag: Jon Cooper

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Jon Cooper plays mind games with the Maple Leafs after Game 1

Postgame presser

The Toronto Maple Leafs pretty much faced the worst-case scenario in Game 1 of their first-round series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning…

Both Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll faltered, allowing seven goals on 34 shots, with Samsonov getting replaced for the third frame.

The Lightning were simply the better team on Tuesday, but head coach Jon Cooper isn’t taking that for granted.
In his Game 1 postgame presser, the Bolts’ bench boss talked about the Maple Leafs and how they could win the series in comments that could only be Cooper playing mind games with Toronto ahead of Game 2 on Thursday night.

“The Leafs might win the series. They might. There’s so much runway left in this, but what I’ve learned over the years is I sure as hell wouldn’t bet against our guys.”

While Cooper has a way of getting under the skin of the Maple Leafs and their fanbase during the first-round series, he has a point. There’s a reason why playoff series are best-of-seven.

And Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe also had an answer when it comes to where the series might go – almost as a response to Cooper’s comments:

“That’s the nature of a playoff series,” the head coach said. “It’s on us to respond.”

And that response starts on Thursday in Toronto for Game 2 of this series.

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Jon Cooper has surprising take on Maple Leafs

NHL.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are set to renew their postseason rivalry with their second straight first round matchup that officially begins tonight. 

Last season, it was the Lightning overcoming a 3-2 series deficit thanks to Brayden Point’s overtime winner in Game 6 followed by Nick Paul playing the role of hero in Game 7, sending Toronto home for an early summer yet again. It goes without saying that this year is huge for Toronto, who are facing a summer of radical changes if they fail to win a postseason series yet again. 

Thank to their superior regular season record, the Leafs once again clinched home ice advantage for their series against the Lightning. And head coach Jon Cooper had nothing but good things to say about them, acknowledging their defensive improvements. 

“The Leafs, to me, keep making positive strides every year. They’re a dynamic offensive team with dynamic players. But they’ve really grown into like a bit of a defensive juggernaut as well,” Cooper told reports in Tampa. “That’s the recipe you need to win in this league.”

The Maple Leafs made several key additions to their team this year, including 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues, swapping Rasmus Sandin for Erik Gustafsson, and bringing back former 1st round draft pick Luke Schenn – all moves that they hope will finally put them over the top. 

“It’s a shame one of these teams has to be out, but it seems like every year you have one of these marquee matchups that hopefully you’d see down the line,” Cooper added. “With only eight teams in each conference making the playoffs, a lot of these matchups happen in the first-round matchups. But they’re good for hockey and a lot of fun.”

Tonight’s Game 1 begins at 7:30 PM EST from Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. 

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Lighting suffer devastating blow ahead of playoffs

NHL Trade Rumors

While the Tampa Bay Lightning may not be quite as strong as they have been in the past several seasons that have saw them advance to the Stanley Cup Final three straight times, they’re still the team to beat in the Easter Conference. Simply put – if you want to advance, you have to go through Tampa. 

The Lighting are once again gearing up to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the postseason that will get underway later this month, but they were dealt a bit of devastating news as the regular season schedule continues to wind down to a close.

Not only did they fail to take down the New York Islanders in last night’s game (while Toronto secured home ice advantage for their impending matchup), they lost forwards Pat Maroon as well as Tanner Jeannot over the course of the game. The latter was hurt after being taken down along the boards by Islanders forward Scott Mayfield. He was unable to put any weight on his leg and required assistance to be able to make his way off the ice and down to the dressing room; he would be ruled out for the rest of the game. 

And needless to say, head coach Jon Cooper was concerned afterward.

As you may remember, the Lighting brought aboard Jeannot from the Nashville Predators in exchange for an absolute haul that included defenseman Cal Foote, a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

If he’s unable to play in Tampa’s opening round series against Toronto, chalk that up as an instant advantage for the Leafs. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any updates on his condition.