"They didn’t just lose. They got absolutely dominated." - Elliotte Friedman reflects on a disastrous weekend for the Tampa Bay Lightning

It was a rough weekend for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as the former back-to-back Stanley Cup champs looked lifeless in two defeats. The "Bolts" were defeated, 5-3, by the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, only to follow that game with a humiliating 6-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

"One day, we are gonna look back on the Tampa Bay Lightning and wonder what caused them to implode when they were unstoppable for so long. What was their kryptonite? It was the guy with the Gummy Bear goal song, Ilya Lyubushkin." - Justin #LetsGoBuffalo

The Tampa Bay Lightning are clearly in a funk. However, for such a well-run, successful organization, it is an uncomfortable position for the organization. Tampa has lost their last five games, and head coach John Cooper and his staff have tried several things to attempt to end their losing streak.

Cooper and his staff have tried benching players and swapping the lines around completely. All they’ve been met with are several injuries and large stretches of poor play from their star players.

"Cooper: "We're in a rut right now. At some point, you just have to work your way out of it. You show some signs of yourselves getting out of it. Then, all of a sudden, you take 1 step forward, 2 steps back. At some point here, we've got to take 1 step back, 2 steps forward."" - Chris Krenn

While it may not be time for the team and the fans to panic, the recent stretch has been cause for concern. NHL Insider Eliotte Friedman took aim at the Tampa Bay Lightning on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.

"This was an exceedingly bad weekend for the Lightning. Jon Cooper was trying to make a point. Coaches will do that from time to time with their best players." Friedman said.

"There is certainly no embarrassment losing to Carolina. But there is an embarrassment in losing that way. They didn’t just lose. They got absolutely dominated."

A look at the Tampa Bay Lightning's trade deadline

While the team has struggled recently, the team made two moves before the NHL Trade Deadline, which will hopefully help right the ship as they become more accustomed to their new team.

Even though the Lightning were relatively quiet on the trade market, they did land Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators for Cal Foote and a package for draft picks. They also acquired Michael Essyimont from the San Jose Sharks for Vlad Namestnikov.

The Tampa Bay Lightning may benefit from their upcoming schedule, as two of their next three games will be played against two of the worst teams in the NHL, the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks.