Even after watching Brayden Point's line get torched in Game 1, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper didn't consider making any adjustments.
The trio of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak was typically dominant in a series-opening win, combining for 11 points, with Point finishing a team-low minus-five, and linemates Tyler Johnson (minus-3) and Ondrej Palat (minus-4) joining him on the ice for several of those goals.
Cooper said he gave zero consideration to switching the Point line away from the Bergeron line, though, and it paid off as Tampa Bay evened the series with a Game 2 victory.
"We had faith in them," Cooper said after the win. "If there was any talk of switching them off, those three would have walked right into my office and said ‘What are you doing?'"
Point subsequently rebounded quite nicely, in fact.
Point is just the third player in @TBLightning franchise history to collect at least four points in the playoffs:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 1, 2018
Tyler Johnson (2-2—4 in Game 2 of the 2016 FR vs. DET) and Vincent Lecavalier (1-3—4 in Game 2 of the 2011 CF at BOS). #NHLStats #BOSvsTBL #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Z8ssDRyZkZ
"I feel good," Point said of his performance. "Last game I went minus-five and tonight I get four points. You can’t get too high or too low."
Game 3 is set for Wednesday in Boston.
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