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The Tampa Bay Lightning have shown that they are a great team. The 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks is a confirmation of that. Stamkos, one of the team's best players, scored a hat trick and the 500th goal in the NHL. "It's such a humbling experience when you have a moment like that and you get to celebrate it with your teammates, who are genuinely just as excited as you are," Stamkos said for nhl.com "I'm so thankful for them.
To do it in a win too where everyone is in a good mood is just icing on the cake," Stamkos said. Jon Cooper is happy about the win, but it seems like he expected more from his team. "The game is kind of the afterthought," coach Jon Cooper said. "We got two points out of it, but as a coaching staff am I happy we won? Yes.
Not really happy the way we won. We got that four-goal lead and then we just sat back for two periods. 'Stammer' is the highlight of the night but you've got to tip your cap to Brian Elliott because he kept us in the way it was down the stretch."
Boudreau on his team
Bruce Boudreau emphasized that his team made serious mistakes that cost them.
"We made a lot of mistakes right off the bat and before you knew it, they've got four," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "That's the kind of team you can't make mistakes [against], and they were relatively crazy mistakes or easy mistakes, giving pucks away." Cooper is overjoyed for Stamkos playing his best days.
"The thing that made me probably the most proud is what he said to the team after the game, and how he thanked everybody," Cooper said of Stamkos. "I've watched that kid grow into a man, a phenomenal leader, and to be honest, he's a generational goal scorer.
That's what he is, and those guys don't come around that often. Enjoy him while you can. I've been extremely fortunate to enjoy him put that puck in the net hundreds of times. Good for him, well deserved."