Lightning will lean on experience to extend series against Maple Leafs

It has been seven years since the Tampa Bay Lightning have trailed 3-2 in a Stanley Cup Playoffs series.

In fact, during their run of two straight Stanley Cup titles, they have faced elimination once.
But that is where they find themselves entering Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amalie Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN).
Still, coach Jon Cooper said the Lightning are prepared for anything, drawing on their experience of qualifying for the postseason eight times in nine seasons.
"We've been through them all," Cooper said. "We've been up 3-2, down 3-2 ... We've almost covered the landscape of series just because we've played in so many. We have a lot of positives we can draw from this group."
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]
The last time Tampa Bay trailed a series entering Game 6 was the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. It would lose that game, and the series to the Chicago Blackhawks. But that same year, the Lightning rallied from being down 3-2 in the first round against the Detroit Red Wings.
They last faced an elimination game in Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals against the New York Islanders, and won 1-0.
Cooper mentioned the 2015 playoff run and that much of the core from that group -- captain Steven Stamkos, defenseman Victor Hedman and forwards Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn -- still remain.
Tampa Bay won Game 6 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in 2015 before winning Game 7 at home. In the 2015 Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers, the Lightning won Game 5 and Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.
"We've shown up in hostile environments against good teams, winning on the road in these situations," Cooper said. "Fortunately we're at home, again that doesn't guarantee anything at all that you're going to win, but I'd much rather play an elimination game at home than on the road. And we've won them here."
Cooper, however, understands Tampa Bay will need to be much better defensively than it has for much of the series. It held a 2-0 lead into the second period in Game 5, but Toronto rallied for three consecutive goals and converted a 2-on-1 odd-man rush on center Auston Matthews' winning goal at 13:54 of the third period for a 4-3 Maple Leafs victory.
In the postgame interview, Cooper said the Lightning "gave the game away."
Said Cooper, "When I say we gave the game away, I'm saying that we gave Toronto opportunities to capitalize and to Toronto's credit they have capitalized on them. We're getting burned by some of the things that we're doing instead of making them earn it the hard way.
"It's our attention to detail and our defending. We've scored enough goals to win games, we're just giving up too much."
Whereas the Lightning have had some success in elimination games, the Maple Leafs haven't advanced past the first round since 2004. Toronto had a 3-2 series lead on the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round before losing two straight and held a 3-1 series lead on the Montreal Canadiens in the first round last season before losing the next three.
In fact, Toronto has lost seven straight in games when it had a chance to eliminate its opponent.
Cooper said he believes he Maple Leafs have to feel some pressure with the recent history of playoff struggles.
"Is it something we can use? I suppose," Cooper said. "That is a hurdle to get over so I'm sure they are thinking about that. But for us, we've got to look ahead and say, 'We've got a game coming up.' We can't sit here and say, 'These guys haven't won in years past, so they're not going to win again.'"
Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon suggested Toronto is going to have as much of a sense of urgency to end the series Thursday.
"They are desperate too, they want to win too," Maroon said. "One team is trying to end the series and one is trying to keep the series going. It's going to be two very good teams going head to head and both want the same thing at the end of the day, a win."