Add to the mix that he was on the bench for the last 38 seconds and his team down a goal with the extra attacker on the ice desperately trying to get the game into overtime. Now what would you say about his ice time?

Highlight that Ryan Callahan was out there, even though he has only one playoff goal this year.

Maybe you wouldn't focus too much on the amount of time played, but you probably questioned why Stamkos was watching instead of playing in those dying seconds.

Finally, point to the ice times of his fellow teammates and of the opposition. Illustrate that he was the sixth highest player on Tampa Bay, with fewer minutes than Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Valteri Filppula and Nikita Kucherov. There were seven Blackhawks that played over 20 minutes: their top four defensemen, plus Brandon Saad, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Now what would you conclude about Steven Stamkos? Well, if you are Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, you say that his coach John Cooper doesn't like him.

Stamkos wants to contribute. He won't complain. He will say the right things not to cause a disturbance. Anything to keep the team unity and chemistry going; after all, they have made it to the final.

Twist what happened in that game to make it appear that there is something more devious going on between the coach and the player. He made Stamkos sit in the penalty box when a bench penalty was called against Tampa Bay.

Oh the horror!

It is not like it was the first time that a star player has ever been asked to sit in the sin bin, especially one who is not part of the penalty-killing unit.

Bring up the fact that Stamkos is no longer on the top line and he has also been displaced to the wing instead of center this past season.

The inhumanity!

Then there is the contract, that is to say, that only has one year remaining on it. Hint-hint, nudge-nudge, Stamkos is on his way out either by trade or by free agency. This is something Simmons would like his readers to believe.

There are others who write about some of the same points. Roy Cummings of the Tampa Bay Tribune talks more about the minutes and the bench sitting than the other stuff.

Cummings reiterates the same talking points, but he does reveal one fact that Simmons does not supply, "One reason: had just come off the ice a few seconds earlier," and "Stamkos' final shift of the game lasted 59 seconds, lengthy by most standards, and ended at the 19:09 mark of the third period."

In regards to the too many men penalty, Cooper said "There's also the fact that, if that penalty gets killed off, Stammer's on the ice right away and sometimes there's a (scoring chance that's created). It's not the first time Stammer has served a penalty, but it's not ideal."

Earlier when the Lightning were up against Montreal, Sportsnet's Chris Johnston speculated that Stamkos is dealing with an injury. A possible injured left hand or wrist was the reason that he was still looking to score his first goal of these playoffs at the time.

A game later, he got his goal and it mattered. As per the Montreal Gazette, "It's a 1-1 game, they're battling and you get a goal. That's what you need from your big guy, you need the big goal. And he got it for us in a big moment in the game when we were trying to take the crowd out of it and deflate their balloon. The big guy had the big goal," Coach Cooper was quoted as saying to reporter Christopher Curtis.

There was an issue of Stamkos' ice time way back when he started in the league. At the time he was riding the bench and it was Dan McCafery of theobserver.ca (Sarnia) who wrote, "Stamkos should be playing 16 or 17 minutes a game, and he should have a permanent spot on the Lightning power play."

He fulfills those requirements currently.

Other requirements include playing fewer minutes in other Tampa Bay victories during this season's playoff run. Take a look at the statistics that Dave Lozo from Bleacher Report has captured. Cooper is doing what got them to the Finals. It simply didn't work in Game 1.

If he did play those final 38 seconds and the Lightning still lost, would the topic of his icetime (17 minutes and 55 seconds) matter? Would it have even come up?

One last note on the penalty. Stamkos was quoted saying in Lozo's article, "In that case, I kind of caused that one. I threw a pass back to the bench, so I probably deserved to serve that one." Maybe he is saying that because he's being a good teammate.

The extra speculation by Simmons on his depth chart status and contract situation is irrelevant at the moment.

"He's done a hell of a job for us. He's led us to where we are. We wouldn't be here without him. I don't think that extra minute, give or take, makes any difference," said Cooper.

Yes, they lost the first match, and it stung because of the manner in which they lost it. However, it is only one game.

Now is not the time for the Lightning to dwell on what could or should have been. Now is no time to panic.

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