Notebook: Better start paramount for Lightning in Game 2

Whether it was shaking off the rust from three days with no games or the challenges of competing against a new playoff opponent, Tampa Bay performed poorly in the first period of its 3-2 loss to Boston to open the Second Round Sunday night.
The Lightning were not sharp in their execution. Their passes were off, they had trouble handling the puck and their management of the puck was less than ideal.
In the moments after the loss, Tyler Johnson said the Bolts "dipped their toes" into the game rather than diving right in.

As Game 1 progressed, the Lightning settled in. By the end of the game, they were executing at the level they'd shown throughout the First Round series against Columbus.
Unfortunately, it was too little, too late as Victor Hedman's pair of third period goals weren't enough to overcome the three-goal deficit.

The key for Game 2, say Lightning players, is to find that high level of execution from the start and continue throughout.
"I think we obviously, we just kind of waited to see what the tone of the game was going to be like, and we waited just a bit too long to be able to recover from it," Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "Certainly wasn't the case going into the second half of that game where I think we started to find our game and realize what it takes to be successful against Boston. I don't envision our start being an issue going into Game 2. I think that push we made at the end there was great for us going forward."
Patrick Maroon has plenty of playoff experience against the Bruins having played them in a seven-game series in last year's Stanley Cup Final, Maroon's St. Louis Blues prevailing to win the Cup.
Maroon said there's not much difference between the Bruins team he saw last year with St. Louis and the one the Bolts are facing in the Second Round this year.
"They're a good team over there. There's a reason why they go far in the playoffs every year and they have a chance of winning the Stanley Cup every year," said Maroon, the only player on the Lightning roster who has won a Stanley Cup. "For me, personally, I think it's the same team I feel like we've been playing last year. For our team, we've just got to focus on our game and make sure we get to our game first and dictate the play right away."
Maroon said the Bruins are playing "good hockey" right now, so it's imperative the Lightning stay within their structure while they find some holes in Boston's game to exploit.
"We didn't make it hard on them last game, so we've just got to find way to create holes and create those opportunities and second and third opportunities and making sure we're breaking them down," Maroon said.
MCDONAGH A GAME-TIME DECISION: Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh exited Game 1 midway through the third period and did not return, Sportsnet senior hockey writer Chris Johnston tweeting McDonagh headed down the tunnel to the locker room and wasn't spotted on the bench for the remainder of the contest.
Following the loss, Cooper didn't have an update on McDonagh's status.
A day later during Monday's media availability, Cooper said McDonagh would not take the ice for practice later that day but that wasn't unusual because a number of Lightning players wouldn't skate with the upcoming back-to-back Tuesday (Game 2) and Wednesday (Game 3).
As far as McDonagh's status for Game 2, Cooper said they'll have to wait until Tuesday to evaluate the veteran and see if he's able to play.
If McDonagh's not in the lineup, the Lightning are losing a major piece on their back end, one who leads the Bolts and all NHL players still playing for time on ice this postseason.
"I think he's kind of our calming factor on the back end," Shattenkirk said. "Obviously has to play against teams' top lines every night and gets put out in defensive zones situations, penalty kill, maybe not the areas that are the flashiest, but I think his commitment to doing all those little things well, commitment to blocking shots, being responsible defensively, that shows us that he's willing to do those hard details and those hard things in the game that we all have to step up and do."
BACK-TO-BACK BETWEEN THE PIPES: Typically during the regular season, a team will start two different goaltenders when playing on consecutive nights as it's generally not preferable to have your goalie logging so many minutes in a short amount of time.
But in the playoffs when every game is as important as the one before or after it, that thinking changes. Teams want their No. 1 in net at all times, in the Lightning's case, Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Because of the condensed playoff schedule, the Lightning have one back-to-back set Tuesday and Wednesday for Games 2 and Game 3 and another potential back-to-back for Games 6 and 7 of the Second Round series versus Boston. Cooper said the situation is not ideal, but circumstances surrounding the tight schedule make it a little easier to navigate.
"In a regular playoffs, you've played 82 games, Vasy probably would have played 60 of them, and then gone through a playoff run," Cooper said. "That has not really happened. Here, we've had a five-month pause. You take the five games, 10 (in this postseason), he's going to be like being at the end of October, maybe start of November. I think that really helps the fatigue factor by having that much time off."
While Cooper didn't say whether Vasilevskiy would start both games of the upcoming back-to-back, it certainly sounds like the coaching staff is prepared to ride their Vezina Trophy finalist no matter the circumstances.
"Now, if tomorrow night goes into five overtimes, you've got a decision to make," Cooper said. "But, 60-minute games, you look at the workload these goalies get. Did he break a sweat during the game or was he under siege? So there's so many things that factor into it. Vasy is young by age, but he's been in the league for a while. We've really found a good niche where we can manage his minutes and his mind. We'll see how this goes because we've never really done this in a playoff series before. No travel, that helps. So, we'll see how this goes, but he's feeling good and pretty fresh now."
AN EVOLVING KUCHEROV:Nikita Kucherov is always going to be the Lightning's go-to player for offensive production. In 2018-19, he totaled a NHL-best 128 points, the most ever in the NHL by a Russian-born winger, and again this regular season, he paced the Lightning for goals (33), assists (52) and points (85).
But in the 2020 Playoffs, Kucherov has evolved into a leader inside the locker room too.

A quiet person by nature and sometimes reticent to speak up because English is not his native tongue, Kucherov has become more vocal on the bench this postseason Cooper said, which has made the coach's job easier getting his message across.
"You get your marquee players to become extensions of your staff and preaching what you want done, especially at the end of games about getting pucks deep and doing the right things, and when you get guys like him talking about it on the bench, it just continues to stamp the message," Cooper said. "That's where Kuch has really evolved. In this playoffs, he's been great."
Kucherov wears his emotions on his sleeve when he plays. When he's frustrated, it's easy to tell in his body language. In Game 1, he had difficulty handling a stretch pass that could have resulted in a breakaway opportunity, and his first instinct was to smash his stick against something, whether it be the goal post or the back wall.
But he thought better of it, caught himself and skated off the ice without incident.
"Kuch really cares," Cooper said. "He cares about the team. He cares about his play. Everybody gets frustrated when the puck's not bouncing your way. He plays a lot of minutes, so he's probably got more chances to get frustrated."
Cooper isn't the only one who's noticed a more vocal Kucherov this postseason either. Shattenkirk, who himself was a major voice in the locker room in Tampa Bay's come-from-behind win in Game 5 of the First Round series versus Columbus, said Kucherov has taken on his normal responsibility of being one of the team's main drivers of play while also sharing in some of the locker room leadership.
"Kuch has really stepped up and been a positive influence on our team in the locker room," Shattenkirk said. "He's speaking up, and it's been very refreshing to have him buy in that way as well."