What a stunner it must be for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were flying high in the regular season before meeting an abrupt end in the playoffs. They were swept out of the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets, which will leave them with plenty to ruminate on this offseason.
Artemi Panarin doesn’t care. After the game, he was rubbing it in his buddy Nikita Kucherov’s face in the post-game handshake line, and Kucherov decidedly did not have that energy.
Just no chill. Considering that the mood in the Lightning locker room has been described as being left speechless after the game, we don’t think Kuch was ready to cope with Panarin and the ear-to-ear grin on his face.
This loss will surely leave the Lightning rattled for some time, and understandably so. It didn’t take long for the team to address its fans in a statement on Twitter, and a rather heartfelt one at that.
h/t Twitter/jtarbett
