The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered a heartbreaking loss on Sunday night when they came up short in Game 7 of their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, making this the fourth consecutive first round exit for the Lightning in as many years.

Following the loss, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was tasked with fielding questions from the media and it was clear that Cooper was not his usual self after such a tough loss. The dejected head coach began by admitting that there were simply no words he could offer to console his team in a moment such as this one.

“It doesn’t matter what you say,” said Cooper. “It probably means something in a couple of days but I think it’s probably just a lot of blank stares from everybody, wondering how that one got away from us.”

A bad case of Deja Vu for Jon Cooper.

For Cooper the heartbreak is no doubt especially raw as this marks the second heartbreaking loss Cooper has endured in only a few short months. Cooper was of course a member of the Team Canada squad that came up just short at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, and Cooper admitted that it felt like a bad rerun after the loss.

“Yeah as soon as that last buzzer went that was the feeling I had,” admitted Cooper. “I’ve seen this movie before.”

Making matters especially difficult for Cooper was the fact that, for much of the game, it felt like the Lightning was the better team on the ice in Game 7.

“I thought we got better as we went and I thought tonight we played our best game of the series,” said Cooper. “Sometimes you win the game and not the score but it’s Game 7 and there’s no moral victory in that.”

Cooper admitted that even a team as experienced and battle hardened as the Lightning had been left shell-shocked by the result.

“There’s obviously some disbelief in our room that we could play like that and not walk away with anything,” said Cooper.

A tremendous show of class from Jon Cooper.

As you might expect, all of the questions that Cooper faced during his post-game media scrum were about the disappointment for the Lightning. In a tremendous show of class however, Cooper would pivot midway through one of his answers and made sure to highlight the excellent work that had been done by his opponents in order to produce this Game 7 result.

“At some point you have to tip your cap to Martin St. Louis, the Montreal Canadiens and Jakub Dobes,” said Cooper in an incredible show of class at a very difficult moment. “They had a plan and stuck to it, they got the lead, protected it, and when they broke down the goalie was there for them.”

Cooper ended his media availability with another classy comment, pointing out that, although they didn’t on this night, the hockey gods have shined on him many times in the past.

“The hockey gods have been in my corner many, many times, and tonight they were in the other corner,” said Cooper.

Jon Cooper’s team may not have won Game 7, but in a losing effort he reminded the entire hockey world why he is one of the most beloved and well respected figures in our sport.