Lightning glad to be on home ice for pivotal Game 3

Tonight at 7:30, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have a chance to take a 2-1 series lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in front of their home crowd at AMALIE Arena. Friday's game will mark the first time that Tampa Bay has played a home playoff game since a Stanley Cup-clinching Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens last season.
On Friday morning, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper called Game 3's and Game 5's "pretty pivotal games."
He was dead on.

When a best-of-seven series is tied at one, the winner of Game 3 holds an all-time series record of 227-110 (.675). While Cooper did say that Game 3 may not be as pivotal as Game 5, he added that it's "pretty darn close."
After skating Games 1 and 2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Bolts will have their home crowd on their side tonight and will turn to the fans at AMALIE Arena to help swing momentum in their favor.
"Hopefully (they're) as loud as ever," said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. "I thought the atmosphere in Toronto was great, so now it's our fans turn to show what we've got here in Tampa, so really looking forward to it tonight."
Stamkos has spent all 14 years of his career in a Tampa Bay uniform, unlike defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who has played in plenty of games at AMALIE Arena as a visitor.
"It's always been a great place to come play as a visiting team because the crowd is always behind this group," said McDonagh. "Then you get to play with it and be on the right side of it down here. It's a great fan base that, win or lose, they're behind you all the way.

"The amount of fans that are out there and the support that they have, you feel it all over the community."
Dating back to last season, Tampa Bay enters tonight's contest having won six consecutive playoff games at home. During this year's regular season, the Lightning posted a record of 27-8-6, earning at least one point in 73% of their home games, good for sixth in the NHL. Toronto was strong on the road this year, earning one or more points in 62% of their away games, tied for 10th-best in the NHL.
After a disappointing loss in Game 1, the Lightning came out with a purpose in Game 2. The Bolts were hard on pucks, playing physical, and showing an urgency that led them to a 5-3 win to tie the series. Following their loss in Wednesday's contest, the Maple Leafs will look to start Game 3 with that same energy.
"We can't come back here, our team, and sit here and say (that) just because we've got the crowd behind us, now we can take a breath, exhale, and say we're going to be okay," Cooper said on Friday. "That will be shame on us if that's the attitude we have coming into tonight's game.
"I would expect one heck of an urgent Toronto team after what happened to them in Game 2, very much how we were after Game 1."
Penalties are up throughout the league in this year's postseason, including Tampa Bay's series with Toronto. Over the past two games, the Lightning and Leafs have combined for 22 power-play opportunities.
After a struggling power play cost the Lightning in Game 1, they turned it on in Game 2, scoring three goals with the man advantage. Tampa Bay will hope to keep the power play rolling on Friday night, but have to be disciplined with how tight the officials have been calling games.
During the regular season, Toronto led the NHL with a 27.3% power-play percentage. The Bolts finished eighth in the league at 23.9%.
"Both teams have elite power plays," said Stamkos. "The team that stays disciplined and stays out of the box is going to give themselves a better chance."

The Bolts were strong on special teams at home this season, ranking eighth in the league with an 83.5% penalty-kill percentage and ninth with a 24.6% power-play percentage.
On the road, Toronto still showed up on special teams as well. With the man advantage, Toronto posted a 23.4% power-play percentage in away games, good for sixth in the NHL. As for their penalty kill, the Leafs posted a 78.1% penalty-kill percentage on the road, tied with Tampa Bay for 13th in the league.
When the Lightning needed Game 2, their big guns came to play. Tampa Bay got four points from Victor Hedman with one goal and three assists, along with three points from Nikita Kucherov with one goal and two helpers.
Hedman has been performing at an elite level all season long, posting career highs in goals, assists, and points for Tampa Bay. On Friday, Stamkos was asked if Hedman's Game 2 performance was a reminder to the league of just how good he is.
"Well, maybe people that don't watch him every day needed a reminder," Stamkos said. "We don't need a reminder.
"We think he's the best defenseman in the game, certainly overall. When you look at the minutes that he plays, the special teams, defensively, offensively, the way he can take over a game with his skating and his size and his strength.
"[It was] obviously a huge game for him last game and he stepped up to the challenge, but we know how elite he is every day here."
With four of the Lightning's five goals on Wednesday coming from Hedman, Kucherov, Corey Perry, and Brayden Point, they showed how strong of a leadership group they have with those players dragging them into the fight. Another key veteran Tampa Bay will lean on is McDonagh, who has been what Cooper calls a "stabilizer" on the back end.
Cooper has always stressed that defending has to be the top priority for his team. McDonagh has led the charge in that department ever since he arrived in Tampa.
"[He] keeps himself in shape," Cooper explained. "He's a pro. Always look for guys that skating is their biggest attribute, because they can play longer minutes. He doesn't labor around the ice. He's an extreme competitor, but I guess most of all, he's a gamer.
"If there's one thing, go through last year's playoff run. I always say you could throw three or four guys to win the Conn Smyth. He was for sure one of them. Vas was deserving, but the next guy in line might have been him and just because of how he plays all around the ice at the big moments.

"Mac's a stabilizer. When stuff's going south, McDonagh stabilizes it and he rights the ship. Just an outstanding, outstanding player."
McDonagh has taken his role as a defensive leader and ran with it, setting constant good examples for his teammates on how to play the right way.
"I try to play really well to the team structure, be dependable that way," McDonagh said. "Guys know what to expect of me. Obviously, the defensemen take a lot of pride in being hard to play against and tough to play against.
"Hopefully I'm keeping the puck out of my net, helping move the puck up the ice, and letting our forwards do their thing there.
"That's one thing I try to stress with any one of our guys. There's no small plays in the playoffs and no score is safe. Crazier things have happened.
"You've just got to continue to go out there, do your job each shift, and be counted on and depended on."
The Lightning will depend on McDonagh again on Friday night against a high-flying Toronto team that ranked second in the NHL this season with 3.8 goals per game. The Bolts weren't far behind, averaging 3.48 goals per contest.
But just like Cooper has stressed, the winner of this series will likely be the team that does a better job keep the puck out of their own net. The Lightning were sixth in the NHL this season, averaging 2.78 goals against per game. The Leafs ranked 19th in the league with an average of 3.07 goals against per game.
It's a pivotal night in Tampa with Game 3 up for grabs. Let's see what the Lightning do with the opportunity.