Canadiens vs Lightning: A Tale of Two Coaches

May 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens players wave to the crowd after their win against Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The Montreal Canadiens, coached by Michel Therrien, and Tampa Bay Lightning, coached by Jon Cooper, have been very vocal the past few days. Since the Habs have won a crucial Game 4, and even more crucial Game 5, and in preparation for the still-more crucial Game 6, the coaches’ press conferences have been the talk of many.

In fact, coaches in press conferences can be very entertaining; they’re usually refined men, polished in front of the camera, and well prepared with statements – some “canned”, many off-the-cuff. These two show all of that.

You have the usual “we’re playing to win” and “we’ll do this” quotes. After all, that isn’t just talk, it’s the belief of every player and coach in the league. If they didn’t believe in their ability to win, they wouldn’t be out there.

But let’s look at the differences between Therrien and Cooper. For the most part, they are both well-spoken gentlemen who clearly love their jobs. But since the Habs have begun winning their games in this series, the tones of both coaches have begun to separate in tone. Aside from specifics, aside from the replies given when one team wins and the other loses, there are differences between how each coach is handling the sudden change of direction for his team.

Let’s have a look at how they sound. Starting with Jon Cooper:

Here are some quotes from the press conferences found at the Bolts website:

May 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper reacts during the second period against Montreal Canadiens in game five of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Post-Game 4:

"We had 2 tough games here at home; we were fortunate to pull out last night’s game late but we let Montreal dictate a lot of the play and tonight, when they got the opportunity, they scored."

"No one thought it would be a sweep. No one thought we would take 2 in Montreal. It’s a race to 4, it doesn’t matter how you get there."

Pre-Game 5:

Asked if he felt the Habs were more confident because they had scored 6 goals in Game 4, he replied:

"I don’t know, did we have more confidence because we put 6 on Price in Game 2?"

While the question could not have yielded a solid answer, Cooper seemed slightly defensive.

"I don’t think deep down inside they’re sitting there saying psychologically, they’re going–"

Interrupting himself he said,

"I don’t know, maybe they are thinking they’re going to score more goals I don’t know, but I just think there’s two really good goalies in the net and it takes Herculean effort to beat them both."

"Our staple all year has been 5-on-5. We’re being limited in our chances 5-on-5. I know we’re a better 5-on-5 team than we’ve shown. Give Montreal credit, gotta tip your hat to them for the way they’ve played, but I know we’re a better team than we’ve shown."

Post-Game 5:

First question was:

"Does it strike you as odd, in sports, that you can be up 3-2, and everybody will say the pressure is on Tampa Bay now? Not on Montreal. You lead, you’re one win away, and the pressure’s squarely on your team, not on Montreal’s in the eyes of the media, as you’ll read about it tomorrow, or the fan base."

Cooper replied, caustic, clever but edgy:

"I don’t know, did you ask Coach Therrien the same question after they lost the 2nd game to Ottawa? So, whatever his answer was, I’ll use that.”"

Why is that notable? Because Jon Cooper is a usually easy-going interview, a fairly affable coach, and this was snippy on his part. Understandably, he was frustrated at not being able to close the deal, but it still stood out to the point of being noted on social media and on radio post-game shows.

Cooper stated that this is probably the way the series should look, with two good hockey teams, two even teams. He dismissed the losses as expected.

He made an offhand remark that they got no power plays; he discussed the penalties his team got, broke down the bad breaks they got, and seemed offhand about it.

"The tide went their way a little bit on the penalty calls but it happens. It wasn’t like it was 8-0, they only got 3 (power plays) but they didn’t score on their 3 but I thought those 3 took momentum away from us."

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