Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper called his team's recent game against the Buffalo Sabres a "critical" one.
"I told our players they can't let frustration set in. Let's turn that energy into a little bit of anger here," he said.
It was their third game of the 2023-24 season.
Even one week into the season, there's pressure to meet expectations. It's a reminder that a lot of what eventually happens by the end of the season can be traced back to how it starts. The Boston Bruins came out of the gate with three straight wins last season. By Game 19, they were 17-2-0.
The opening of the NHL season is fertile ground for overreactions. Proclamations are made and then quickly regretted -- or held onto as prophetic.
Just over a week into the 2023-24 NHL regular season, here are 12 first impressions that we judge to be absolutely delusional or harbingers of things to come.