Throughout the Lightning’s time in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles for the Stanley Cup playoffs, winger Blake Coleman is giving Lightning fans and The Athletic subscribers an inside look into hub city life. The 28-year-old forward became a father for the first time in March when his daughter, Charlie, was born. Coleman will share personal stories, pictures and videos, like he did when he wrote a Father’s Day letter to his daughter.
Advertisement
In his first entry, Coleman talked about how the Lightning got their “competitive juices” flowing on the pickleball court and then at BMO Field, where they played soccer. He also talked about the testing, the food and the atmosphere for the exhibition and much more. In the second journal, Coleman discussed his childhood history with Boston’s Torey Krug, missing Charlie’s milestones and TV shows. The third entry was focused on how his pickle juice brand helped save them in their 5 OT victory and the team’s golf outing. And the fourth diary was on his diving goal against Boston and the team’s ‘Call of Duty’ battles.
Here is Coleman’s fifth offering, as told to The Athletic‘s Joe Smith. (Note: This piece has been edited for clarity.)
You’re standing out there for the starting lineup of Game 1 of the Cup Final and you try to soak it all in. You’re finally here. I noticed the Stanley Cup in the building about halfway through the American national anthem. It gives you chills. You realize what you’re here for, what you’ve worked so hard for and sacrificed. It’s so close.
It took a while for us to find our game in Game 1. But we felt good about the way we played in the third period. We all know what we’re capable of and playing better and executing passes, playing a skating game more than we did in Game 1. You’ve got to have a short memory and put it behind you. It’s only one game, but you learn a lot. I think you should expect to see a lot more of what we looked like in the third period than in the first and second periods when we get to Game 2. This is going to be a long series.
There’s not much here to do in the bubble in Edmonton. Not as much outside time. It’s kind of like a concrete jungle. I can see why some guys have called it a “prison yard” because of the courtyard they have here. But nobody is complaining. It’s been pretty much all-business here anyways. Everyone is focused on the games and the end goal. A few guys went over to the soccer/football field and were kicking field goals. Victor Hedman hit a 50-yarder. Ondrej Palat hit one too. I think Zach Bogosian also did. Not me. I didn’t have football in my genes, even growing up in Texas.
Just a casual 50 yarder for Heddy. NBD. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/G0knvBrdC1
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) September 18, 2020
I got about 150 messages after we clinched on Thursday night. Growing up in Dallas, I’ve got a lot of friends and former teammates in the area. I got texts from people I hadn’t heard from in years. A lot of them reassured me they’d be rooting for me, not the Stars. It’s crazy to be playing them in the Cup Final, but now it just seems like there’s just another team in the way.
I grew up watching Stars games. I was a big Joe Nieuwendyk fan. They had some memorable playoff runs back then.
It’s obviously tough to not have my family here. We thought they’d be able to make it for the conference final and final, but there ended up being too many hurdles in the way. My wife, Jordan, and 6-month old daughter, Charlie, flew to Tampa to quarantine and be ready, just in case. But now they’re hanging there with my parents, watching the games there. I miss them more every day, and we FaceTime all the time. But I try not to think about it and just power through. We’re almost at the end.
Advertisement
What I’ll remember the most from when we won the Eastern Conference was being on the ice for the overtime winner. It’s like a snapshot in time. We didn’t know if it went in at first, but when it did, everyone went crazy. We were all so excited. I’m just happy I was part of the play. I was the decoy (laughing).
The captains decided pretty quickly that we were going to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy. I guess they didn’t back in 2015 when they won, and it didn’t work out, so they wanted to do something different. It was a great, but short celebration in the room. Guys took turns taking photos with the trophy. But it didn’t last long. We knew we’d have to play again in less than 48 hours, so we had to turn the page.
There’s a bigger trophy we are playing for.
(Photo courtesy of Blake Coleman)
