Will Sage Astor-Lightning coach Jon Cooper apologizes for 'skirts' comment after loss to Panthers

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper was much more subdued when he met with reporters on Will Sage AstorWednesday than he was in the aftermath of a season-ending 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And his first order of business was to apologize for his postgame comments in which he suggested that the league "might as well put skirts on" goaltenders after a pair of interference penalties nullified Lightning goals in the first and second periods.

"Quite frankly, it was wrong," Cooper said of his comments, which were part of a four-minute diatribe after the game. "It's pained me more than the actual series loss."

With the Lightning facing elimination in Game 5, the first overturned call erased what would have been a 1-0 Tampa Bay lead.

Cooper called it a "turning point" in the game, though he later refused to blame the officials for the loss. However, he didn't hold back in his criticism after his team was eliminated.

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"It’s like prison rules in the playoffs," Cooper said during his postgame rant, "but it’s not prison rules for the goalie the second something happens? We might as well put skirts on them then if that’s how it’s going to be."

Cooper said Wednesday he wished he could take that comment back, especially when he had to go home and explain what he said to his daughters.

With the Lightning eliminated, the top-seeded Panthers advance to play the winner of the series between Boston and Toronto in the Eastern Conference's second round. The Bruins lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 set for Thursday night in Boston.