Showtime, for some reason, decided to premiere the debut episode of “All Access: Quest for the Stanley Cup” in the middle of the Lightning–Penguins Game 4 on Friday night. Thankfully, it’s available on demand. It’s more of a recap of what’s occurred so far with some behind the scenes footage sprinkled in between. The series airs half-hour episodes at 9 pm Fridays, chronicling the two conference finals and the Stanley Cup. Here’s what we learned about the Bolts in the first episode.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper f-bomb count: 6. So he swears. A lot. Or rather, they keep showing clips of Cooper when he’s swearing.
1. Cooper’s message before Game 1: Being in the Eastern Conference Final isn’t a fluke. Play mad. Short shifts is a common thread for all four teams.
2. On Ryan Callahan’s hit on Kris Letang, the ref huddle comes to the conclusion that it wasn’t a hit from behind. Callahan got a five-minute major (but stayed in the game, as a guy in stripes pointed out). When Cooper tries to argue with a ref about the penalty, the ref asks, “Would you want one of your guys to be hit like that?”
3. Ben Bishop’s injury is shown in slow motion and it’s all the awful all over again. We see Steven Stamkos in the hallway offering a pat on Bishop’s chest before the goalie is carried into a room and the doors are shut behind him.
4. A lot of teams (or most, or even maybe all of them) have some sort of object or clothing that they pass around after each victory. Each team is different and it’s a good way for guys to recognize each other after a win. The person who has it last is the one who decides which player gets it next. We see the After Game 1, the Lightning have a military vest. It goes from Victor Hedman to Andrei Vasilevskiy.
5. In between Game 1 and 2, there’s a glimpse into Bishop’s rehab process: major work on the trainer’s table and balancing on one leg while he and someone who’s probably part of the team staff throwing a soccer ball back and forth.
6. Bishop is on the ice for practice, and it appears he gets right back off because of the pain. It makes Steven Stamkos wonder out loud, “He put on his pads for that?”
7. Cooper’s message for Game 2? The team came to Pittsburgh to win two games not just one.
8. “What the **** is going on here?” Cooper wonders after that first period. We all did.
9. His message before overtime was to play desperate. Guess that got lost in translation.
Watch the full episode below.
