from Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times,

Just two days after the Canadiens snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the Lightning, Tampa Bay coughed up another home game Wednesday, a 5-2 loss to the Rangers, who had dropped eight consecutive games on the road. It was another brutal defeat for the Lightning (18-16-4), on a national NBCSN broadcast, further hindering its climb back into playoff position.

Tampa Bay has dropped three of five on this critical six-game homestand.

"We've got to be a little more (angry) about the situation we're in," captain Steven Stamkos said. "We can't just be, 'We'll find a way because we know we have the talent in here.' It's not easy in this league. It's going to be up to us, hopefully we can all, myself included, take the next couple days and really start to worry about the future of this team going forward because we're running out of time."

Said defenseman Anton Stralman: "Every guy in the room has to look themselves in the mirror."

Lightning players have repeated they have a sense of urgency, but it's not showing on the ice. Tampa Bay opened with another slow start, just two shots in the first 12 minutes, including zero on the first two power plays.

"It's easy to say things, it's a lot tougher to do them," Stamkos said. "We've got to do it."

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