Bolts head coach Jon Cooper admits that this Leafs team is different and that their past doesn't define them

The Tampa Bay Lightning may have extended their first round series with the Leafs to a final and deciding Game 7, but Bolts head coach Jon Cooper knows that there's a tall task ahead in enemy territory, playing the Buds in front of a packed house at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night in Toronto.

On Friday, Cooper touched on what lies ahead for the Bolts in Game 7, emphasizing that in no way, shape or form are the Lightning overlooking the Leafs. They know that the Leafs are a dangerous team and just because the Lightning are back-to-back defending Stanley Cup winners doesn't mean that they're the superior team this year. In fact, the Leafs have dominated much of the series, especially at 5-on-5.




For the majority of the series, Cooper had downplayed how good the Leafs have been, stating that his Lightning team were gifting the Leafs their wins and insinuating that the Leafs weren't beating the Lightning, but rather it was the Lightning who were beating themselves. There's no doubt that part of this was a tactic to try to get into the heads of the Leafs, but now that he sees that that tactic doesn't work, Cooper is finally giving the Leafs their due and respecting the threat of a possible first round loss for his team.