Braydon Coburn, left, of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens battle for position in front of goaltender Ben Bishop in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.Getty Images
Readers of entrails take note: The general feeling in the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room on the eve of a pivotal Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning is dangerously loose.
The trouble is, the Bolts' players are throwing off a similar vibe, just with more shorts and flip-flops.
When you get to this point in the Stanley Cup playoffs – the deciding stages of the second round – a great deal of psychic and physical energy has already been expended.
The result is, somewhat counter-intuitively, that nerves get less jangly.
"With every game [the tension] starts to feel more normal. You still get the butterflies a little bit, but it's not hard to relax on a day like today," said Habs winger Brendan Gallagher.
The Canadiens face elimination for the third straight game, this time in Amalie Arena where the Lightning were great in the regular season but have been inconsistent in the playoffs. But there is a quiet assurance about the Habs.
"We're confident because we like, as a team, the way we play. We like to apply pressure, we don't feel pressure," said coach Michel Therrien after his club's optional pregame skate (several players took the option to not participate).
Much of that has to do with the boost that comes from having Carey Price in goal.
The Bolts expressed a little more emotion after a workout of their own – "We want to play a little mad, a little angry," said captain Steven Stamkos – but the chief concern in their locker room is over right winger Ryan Callahan.
The gritty right-winger started feeling poorly on Monday afternoon, and was forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove his appendix. Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said he knew the news couldn't be good when he saw his head trainer's number pop up on his phone around supper time.
"There's absolutely nothing good coming from that call," said Cooper. At the same time, he wouldn't categorically rule Callahan, who was released from hospital early Tuesday, out of the game.
"Strange things can happen," he said.
Callahan is an important player for the Lightning. His offensive game hasn't been a factor in the series, but he's been Tampa's chief P.K. Subban botherer and hasn't been on the ice for a single goal against in the series. He has also blocked nine shots and dished out a team-leading 42 hits.
The Habs are not about to draw any conclusions about whether he plays or not.
"I'll put it this way: If we go in with the mindset it's going to be a little bit easier tonight because Callahan is out, we're going to make a big mistake. We can't look at it that way. We've had injuries too, and other guys step up," said Lars Eller. "In the big picture, I don't think it's going to mean a lot for Tampa."
Should he not be able to play, which seems the likeliest scenario, Callahan could be replaced by 24-year-old minor-leaguer Jonathan Marchessault. The former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standout has only played four NHL games (he has one goal), but he is a right-handed shot and has shown in lower levels that he can get his head around the defensive aspects of the game.
It would appear Marchessault will get the nod over 20-year-old Jonathan Drouin, the former third-overall draft pick who has played two games in this series. Spotted in a hallway outside the Tampa dressing room, Drouin, the Huberdeau, Que., native, may have been the only player in the building who didn't appear smiling and relaxed.