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History not on Lightning's side; belief is

 
“It’s all about belief,” says defenseman Victor Hedman, near left, with goalie Ben Bishop and defenseman Anton Stralman after a Red Wings goal in Game 5’s shutout loss. “I’m not worried about this group at all. We know we can do it.”
“It’s all about belief,” says defenseman Victor Hedman, near left, with goalie Ben Bishop and defenseman Anton Stralman after a Red Wings goal in Game 5’s shutout loss. “I’m not worried about this group at all. We know we can do it.”
Published April 27, 2015

DETROIT

Coach Jon Cooper said the Lightning was understandably down on its plane flight after Saturday's 4-0 home loss to the Red Wings that put them on the brink of Stanley Cup playoff elimination.

After all, the Lightning faces a daunting task, trailing the first-round series 3-2 heading into tonight's do-or-die Game 6 at Joe Louis Arena.

But as the Lightning gathered for a meeting at its downtown hotel Sunday afternoon, the mood began to change. Some players spoke up, those who have been on teams that overcame 3-2, 3-1 — even 3-0 — series deficits to win.

Their message? It has been done before; why not us?

"It's all about belief," defenseman Victor Hedman said. "I'm not worried about this group at all. We know we can do it."

Hedman and captain Steven Stamkos were on the 2011 Lightning team in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals that overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Penguins to win. Center Brian Boyle and defenseman Anton Stralman were on the Rangers team last season that rallied from a 3-1 hole to beat Pittsburgh in the East semifinals. And defensemen Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn were on the 2010 Flyers team that was down 3-0 to Boston in the East semifinals but came back to win en route to the Stanley Cup final.

There's not one secret to pulling off the improbable, but there are a few common themes. Coburn said it's important to stay positive and focused, and not dwell on the past. Coach Jon Cooper said the attention to detail must be heightened because the "margin for error is nil." But as desperate as a team is, it's important for it to just play its game, do what got it to this point and not try to win Games 6 and 7 at once.

"You can't overdo things," Stralman said. "You've got to kind of kick down the excitement and emotions a little bit and make sure you do what you're supposed to do out there.

"We need the whole group pulling in the same direction, not guys trying to do it on their own. We need really our top game from our team, not individual players."

This holds especially true against a Red Wings team that has stifled the league's highest-scoring offense by clogging the neutral zone, trapping, clutching and grabbing. One-on-one moves aren't going to cut it.

"You've just got to go with the mentality to play the best game of the year," Stralman said. "It's as simple as that. Work hard, follow your system and make sure you follow the plan, no matter what happens."

In this series, neither team has won two in a row. And if that holds true tonight, the Lightning has a chance to extend this series to Game 7 back at Amalie Arena on Wednesday. History isn't on Tampa Bay's side; 78.1 percent of teams that have taken a 3-2 series lead advanced to the next round, the Elias Sports Bureau says.

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"Sometimes you can surprise yourself with what you're capable of," Boyle said. "People write you off? It's fine. We're a confident group. We need to play better than we have; that's the bottom line.

"I don't think we've played as well as we can. We've won two out of five, have a chance to tie it up. It's going to be difficult, obviously."

But not impossible, or unprecedented.

Contact Joe Smith at joesmith@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_JSmith.