"As we saw with Columbus and we saw with Philly, there's desperation in these teams that are sniffing a playoff spot," Cooper said. "We've been kind of used to being in this position where more often than not we're getting a team's best effort. But it's a little different now just because the season, all of a sudden there's an ending in sight. These teams want to get in. And once you get in, you never know what could happen. They've had a couple unfortunate results here of late, so I'm sure we're going to get their best tonight. Just because of how tight the games have been, we've got to be on this."
HEDMAN UPDATE: It'll be a "game-time decision" whether Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman returns to the lineup tonight against Buffalo according to Cooper.
Hedman was a full participant in the Bolts' morning skate and returned to his usual spot on the top pair, this time alongside Anton Stralman. Hedman missed the final two periods of Tampa Bay's win in Columbus and did not play Tuesday when the Lightning defeated the Philadelphia flyers 5-2 because of a lower-body injury sustained in the win over the Blue Jackets.
If Hedman doesn't play against Buffalo, it would appear he'll undoubtedly be back for Monday's game at AMALIE Arena against the Los Angeles Kings, barring any unforeseen setbacks.