“We have to be feeling good about our game going into our playoff series.”The last playoff series between these teams was an epic East finals showdown in 2018. Stamkos suffered a lower-body injury during Phase 2 of the NHL's return-to-play plan. Cooper's Tampa Bay Lightning took a while to warm up, then won 14 of 21 games before the NHL season was halted in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The finalists for the Jack Adams Award have been announced, given each year to the NHL’s best head coach. Following a 4-1 loss to the Flyers that secured the No. TORONTO (AP) — Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as “a blue-collar” team. When they face off Monday in Toronto in each team’s round-robin opener, the race for seeding will be on, with the “We’re a team that has been battle-tested, and we’ve gone through adversity,” Reirden said. When Todd Reirden and Jon Cooper spent four months looking over video of the teams they coached this season, they saw almost polar opposites. All rights reserved. Our staff has been working with him on a daily basis, and in situations like this you never know." In the team's most recent game against the Boston Bruins, the Lightning almost blew a 2-0 lead before securing a 3-2 victory. “I like our team for a number of reasons, and one of them’s because of the experience that we have, and the fact that it is a much different scenario where we’re going right into playoff hockey.”The Capitals won all three meetings this season, though they haven’t played the Lightning since Dec 21. He was on the ice for a full practice Monday and is expected to be full go for round-robin play.“I’ve been progressing, obviously had the surgery in March and kind of the ups and downs of a rehab,,” Stamkos said.

“I think that is very reasonable. “We were pretty happy with a lot of our game, and so now you have a chance to kind of tweak, investigate what went wrong and get better at it.”Washington and Tampa Bay did enough to earn top four seeds in the Eastern Conference.

You'll Reirden's Washington Capitals started hot before their defensive game slipped. Since the Christmas break, the Lightning have the league’s top points percentage, and they take plenty of confidence into the restart.“It’s really important to get our game on track right away,” forward Tyler Johnson said. However, he could return earlier than expected.More from Cooper on Stamkos: "Injuries are unpredictable, and if there’s somebody that’s working harder than him, I have not seen it in trying to get back. “I think I’m in pretty good shape right now.”Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsFILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper yells instructions during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh. FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper yells instructions during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh. Bolts head coach Jon Cooper confirmed Friday that Stamkos will be out indefinitely, according to team reporter Bryan Burns. He has 26 goals in 28 NHL games — including two hat tricks — at what’s now known as Scotiabank Arena, where all Eastern Conference games will be played without fans.Ovechkin is also primed for this ahead of his 35th birthday in September after working with his trainer during the time away from hockey. He’s rehabbing. Copyright 2020 YB Media, LLC. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the team, very clearly, has missed Stamkos. TEAM POSITION DATE SPAN AGE SPAN DURATION; Tampa Bay Lightning: Head Coach: Mar 25, 2013 - Present Cooper's Tampa Bay Lightning took a while to warm up, then won 14 of 21 games before the NHL season was halted in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Always free!This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Can you name every NHL player to score 60 or more goals in a single season?This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google “Is that a positive or a negative?” Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the seventh-seeded Blue Jackets. 2 seed in the East for the Lightning, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper didn't have an update on Victor Hedman's status after he left in the first period with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Customize your newsletter to get articles on your favorite sports and teams. Jon Cooper's coaching success has led to many opportunities, including an engagement at the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. Jon Cooper’s rise up the NHL coaching ranks has been nothing if not unconventional. “Definitely the best I felt was (Monday) on the ice, so another step forward.”Alex Ovechkin tied for the league lead in goals this season with 48, including two Oct. 29 in his only visit to Toronto. However, he could return earlier than expected. Reirden's Washington Capitals started hot before their defensive game slipped. When Todd Reirden and Jon Cooper spent four months looking over video of the teams they coached this season, they saw almost polar opposites. This season he tallied 29 goals and 37 assists in 59 games before the regular season was paused and ultimately canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the first game of round-robin play, Tampa beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in the shootout. Emailed daily. “Very skilled team. “We kind of do some workout to be in shape and when we come back from Miami and be in D.C., we have ice and we still do workout off the ice,” Ovechkin said.