TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper will miss the next two games after the death of his father, Robert.
Assistant Rob Zettler was the acting head coach for the Lightning’s home game against Toronto on Wednesday night and will again do so at Carolina on Thursday night.
Cooper, who coached the Lightning to Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, was the head coach for Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympics. The Canadians left with the silver medals after losing 2-1 to the United States in overtime in the gold medal game.
“Thoughts and prayers, as always, to Coop and his family,” Zettler said Wednesday before facing the Maple Leafs. “That was the No. 1 thing, that he takes care of business back home. He left this morning to go back to Vancouver. What I am in confident in is our guys. They’ve been excellent in so many ways this year, including in times like this where’s Coop’s missing or something happens to one of the guys.”
The NHL restarted its season Wednesday after taking a break for the Olympic Games in Milan. Tampa Bay entered the day with a six-point lead in the Atlantic Division and the Lightning’s 78 points were tied with the Hurricanes for best in the Eastern Conference.
They went 19-1-1 over the final 21 games before the break.
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