No one has described this Colorado Avalanche season better than Jon Cooper.
The Tampa Bay Lightning coach was speaking to the media ahead of a Jan. 6 game against the Avalanche, and he said the phrase “three regulation losses.” It wasn’t what he said though, it was how he said it.
There was a little chuckle. It felt inadvertent and instinctual. Like the coach who has won the Stanley Cup twice and a Four Nations gold medal couldn’t help but offer a “this doesn’t even seem possible” reaction.
If Cooper caught one of the clips from Jared Bednar’s postgame press conference Saturday night, it probably brought a wry smile to his face … but also some long-term concern.