Though the Tampa Bay Lightning are in the middle of the Eastern Conference race, head coach Jon Cooper didn’t mince his words after Tuesday night’s 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“We played like a sack full of… you know what,” Cooper told reporters, as reported by the Toronto Sun.

“They don’t have the same style as they used to. They play well collectively defensively and that’s why they win games,” he also mentioned, paying tribute to Queen City’s formation.

“The Reality of the National League”

Despite everything, Cooper put the situation into perspective in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times newspaper.

“That’s the reality of the National League [LNH] and I understand that, he said. We play 82 games and we can’t be at our best every night. We tried to make games from scratch and we gave them opportunities.”

His team is third in the Atlantic Division, 11 points behind the Boston Bruins. The Lightning have won seven of their last 10 games and offense is a big part of the team’s success. With an average of 3.58 goals per match, she ranks third in the Bettman circuit in terms of goals scored.

Florida State’s offensive is led by Nikita Kucherov. The latter is also fourth in the NHL with 47 points, including 12 goals, in 31 games. The Russian has amassed 10 points more than his closest Lightning rival, Captain Steven Stamkos.

Jon Cooper’s side will look to return to victory on Wednesday night against the Red Wings in Detroit and on Friday night against the Buffalo Sabers before returning to their fans on December 28 to take on the Canadian.