Jon Cooper benches trio of Lightning stars, explains why post-game

The Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon and came away with their fourth consecutive loss, which has furthered the gap between Toronto and themselves for second in the Atlantic Division.

During the third period on Sunday, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper benched Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, as well as captain Steven Stamkos and explained the reasoning behind the move after the game.

In those four straight losses, the Lightning have scored 11 goals, but have allowed 21. Defensively and in net, they have to be a lot better down the stretch, there's no question about it. The last time Tampa Bay has lost four straight was in early-April 2022.

The Lightning will have a quick turnaround as they face the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.

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