It was the first Lightning loss in a home opener in seven years.

“They came to win a hockey game,” Cooper said. “We came here to watch the banner raising, then watched a team want to win a hockey game. We did a lot of watching tonight.

“It was like we were stuck in the mud all night. It’s tough because you really haven’t seen that out of us in a long time. It’s going to happen, but in Game 1, it’s not what you’re expecting to happen.”

Outside Amalie Arena, six-time Cup champion Mark Messier could feel the Lightning’s pain. The Hall of Famer noted how on banner-raising night, you don’t always see the excitement from the ceremony translate to the ice.

“You reach the top of the mountain,” Messier said on the ESPN set. “It’s hard to conjure up that energy right away.”