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EspañolThe Tampa Bay Lightning are set to welcome back their head coach on Saturday.
Jon Cooper will be returning to helm the Bolts bench against the Buffalo Sabres after missing the team’s last two games following the death of his father.
Assistant Rob Zettler served as the acting head coach for Tampa Bay in Cooper’s absence and led the team to a 1-1-0 record in that span.
“Thoughts and prayers, as always, to Coop and his family,” Zettler said Wednesday before beating 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.”
Cooper, who coached the Lightning to Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, was the head coach for Canada at 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.
The 14th-year bench boss now rejoins the Lightning as they continue their push toward securing the Atlantic Division, currently first with a 38-15-4 record. Cooper has led Tampa Bay to eight consecutive playoff trips and hopes to now power the Lightning past the first round for the first time since 2022, when their run of three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances ended with a 4-2 series loss.
— With files from the Associated Press
