Panthers coach Andrew Brunette buries his own team after Game 3 loss.

You can imagine that the Florida Panthers, one of the best teams in the National Hockey League during the course of the regular season, are feeling pretty frustrated right now after losing Game 3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday and going down 0-3 to the Lightning in their second round Stanley Cup playoff series.

Things have not gone as the Panthers have envisioned and, in spite of making some serious acquisitions ahead of the trade deadline, they must now win 4 consecutive games in order to advance in these playoffs. 

Following Game 3 the signs of frustration were starting to show and leading the charge was Florida Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette, who quite publicly called out the players in the Panthers' locker room. Brunette was talking about the Lightning going all out, blocking shots, and generally doing everything it takes to win, when he made a comment that effectively indicated he believes the members of the Lightning locker room are more motivated to win than his own players.

"They have more will and more desire than we do and it shows probably if you watch the game, shift after shift now," said Brunette when speaking to the media after a frustrating 3rd straight loss in the series.

It's a pretty damning comment for a head coach to make about his own team, especially considering the fact that the Panthers are still very much alive in this series. That being said, this may very well have been a hail mary on the part of Brunette who is no doubt looking at all possible ways to light a fire under his team and get them back into this series against the two time defending Stanley Cup champions.

 It is of course going to be an uphill climb for the Florida Panthers to get back into this series at this stage, and perhaps that plays into Brunette's willingness to be so cavalier with his post game comments. Brunette is still only the interim head coach of the Florida Panthers and it may be the case that he believes his time behind the bench may be limited if the Panthers fail to deliver in the playoffs.