The veteran stood up for his goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and clearly placed responsibility elsewhere.

The tone was serious.

Tampa Bay now trails 3-2 in the series against the Canadiens, and the return to Montreal tomorrow could decide their season.
“We didn’t get the job done. We pushed but it wasn’t there. It is frustrating in our building but, luckily, there is a Game 6.”

– via Gabby Shirley

Then Perry revisited Alexandre Texier’s goal that beat Vasilevskiy in the third period.

And that’s when he got angry.
Not at the officiating. Not at bad luck. At his own teammates.
“It is not on him. It is not on him. He’s done a lot of good things for this team this year. It’s not on him. It is on the guys in front of him.”

– Corey Perry

Corey Perry sends a clear message to Lightning veterans as pressure builds before Game 6

Four times he said “him.”

Four times Perry refused to blame his goaltender.

That’s no coincidence.

It’s a message sent directly to the veterans in Tampa’s locker room.

“We have to win. We have to drag them back here,” Perry added

Perry knows exactly where the Lightning are headed if tomorrow goes wrong at the Bell Centre.

Their summer starts Friday. And he refuses to let it happen without a real response from his teammates.

The message, combined with Jon Cooper’s earlier comments, paints a clear picture inside Tampa’s locker room.

The leaders have had enough.

Now it’s up to the big names to answer the call tomorrow night in front of 21,105 playoff-charged fans.

Otherwise, Perry and company will have all summer to think about it.