The Tampa Bay Lightning saw their Atlantic Division battle tighten Monday night after a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, and head coach Jon Cooper didn’t hold back in his postgame reaction.
The defeat leaves both clubs tied atop the Atlantic Division with 102 points, adding extra weight to what was already a heated showdown.
Jon Cooper Calls Out Officiating After Lightning’s Loss to Sabres
Buffalo struck first when Alex Tuch opened the scoring at 5:42 of the first period, scoring off an assist from Bowen Byram past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Nikita Kucherov answered on the power play at 11:44, converting a feed from Jake Guentzel to tie things 1-1. But Josh Norris restored Buffalo’s lead later in the period.
Guentzel evened the game early in the second, but Jason Zucker tipped Byram’s point shot to give Buffalo the lead again. Jack Quinn sealed it with an empty-netter at 18:06 of the third.
The game featured a parade to the penalty box, with the teams combining for 13 minor penalties. And Cooper made it clear he felt the officiating disrupted the flow.
“Every time you touch somebody it’s a penalty? Come on. Let the teams play. That’s why everybody filled this building tonight. It sucked the fun out of the game,” Cooper said.
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His frustration reflected a night where momentum was constantly halted, preventing either team from settling into a rhythm.
Tampa Bay’s night worsened in the third period when forward Pontus Holmberg was injured after a hit from Peyton Krebs along the boards. While the collision initially looked routine, Holmberg was slow to get up, clutching his left arm.
Replays showed the penalty box door appeared to open on impact, causing Holmberg’s shoulder to strike the exposed edge, a detail that drew even stronger comments from Cooper.
“I don’t know who is working the penalty box over there, but I don’t know if they should keep their job after what happened there. Like, leaving the door open. That could have hurt anyone on either team. Those are just dangerous situations so a little frustrated on my part, to be honest,” Cooper said.
When asked about Holmberg’s condition, Cooper’s response was brief and concerning: “Not good.” He wasn’t optimistic about the forward’s status moving forward.
Even with the disappointing loss and growing frustration, Tampa Bay doesn’t have time to linger on it. The Lightning quickly turn their focus to Tuesday’s crucial clash with the Ottawa Senators as the Atlantic Division race intensifies.
