3 Keys: Lightning at Canadiens, Sport 4 of Stanley Cup Closing
The Tampa Bay Lightning can hold the Stanley Cup for the second time in now not as a lot as 10 months after they search recommendation from the Montreal Canadiens in Sport 4 of the Stanley Cup Closing at Bell Centre on Monday.
The Lightning gained the Cup for the second time in their history Sept. 28, 2020, defeating the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Sport 6 of the Closing.
“It has been a dart,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper acknowledged.
Tampa Bay can become the first team to comb its opponent in the Cup Closing since the Detroit Crimson Wings did it against the Washington Capitals in 1998.
The Lightning are the first team to hold the first three video games in the Cup Closing since the Los Angeles Kings against the New York Rangers in 2014. The Kings misplaced Sport 4 but gained Sport 5 to hold the Stanley Cup.
“It is a noteworthy different for us to head available and desire it, but it be going to be exhausting,” Lightning defenseman David Savard acknowledged. “All people knows that team on the opposite side doesn’t want to head down with out a fight.”
The Canadiens will strive to become the fifth NHL team to procedure reduction after shedding the first three video games in a ultimate-of-7 series and second to set it in the Cup Closing (1942 Toronto Maple Leafs). They are the 200th team to path 3-0, along side the 28th in the Cup Closing.
Tampa Bay has outscored Montreal 14-5 and hasn’t trailed in the series. The Lightning had one-aim leads after the first length in Video games 1 and 3.
“There is slightly about a vitality,” Canadiens ahead Paul Byron acknowledged. “All people on the team knows we are in a position to play better. It is a mountainous recount for the team, but each person has to play to their capacity tonight. I tackle the vitality. I tackle the ambiance on the team. We are going to build apart a query to tonight.”
Listed below are 3 keys for Sport 4:
1. Impress would possibly maybe maybe comprise to calm be appropriate
Canadiens goalie Carey Impress has been badly outplayed in the series by his Lightning counterpart, Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Impress has a 4.39 targets-against realistic and an .835 attach share, allowing 13 targets on 79 photographs. Vasilevskiy has a 1.67 GAA and a .948 attach share, allowing five targets on 97 photographs.
It is unlikely that the Canadiens will lengthen the series if Vasilevskiy continues to outshine Impress.
2. Lightning want to dam out noise
The Lightning don’t factor in they’ll gain caught up in the different to hold the Stanley Cup on tale of of their journey from last season.
They misplaced Sport 5 of the Cup Closing against the Stars last season after they had a gamble to hold the series. They gained it in Sport 6.
“I take note vividly last yr having an different to knock out Dallas and I watch reduction now my tips had been all shifting into the base direction,” Cooper acknowledged. “You’re furious by raising the Stanley Cup, what’s it going to be tackle after, lifelong dreams, who’s going to gain to drink out of it. That is known as channeling your vitality in the base direction.
“After we misplaced that recreation, I realized a lesson and it has to procedure reduction to your beliefs and it be the formula over the halt result. You are going to now not judge of the halt result. You right comprise to factor in to your process and whatever happens that’ll all desire care of itself. Going into these video games now, shiny how principal is at stake, I’ve build apart it apart and I want to channel my vitality into having our team play the particular that that you simply would possibly maybe maybe judge of recreation.”
3. Canadiens create changes
The Canadiens would possibly maybe maybe comprise a up to date watch with several line and lineup changes in an strive to shake things up and receive some contemporary vitality, particularly in the starting up up of the recreation.
The last be conscious commerce up entrance is inserting ahead Jake Evans at center on the third line and scratching Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who has performed 19 straight video games since he used to be a healthy scratch in Sport 1 against the Maple Leafs in the first spherical.
Evans, scratched the past two video games after playing on the fourth line in Sport 1, will center the third line with Artturi Lehkonen and Byron. Canadiens coach Dominque Ducharme acknowledged the road brings bustle and vitality, because it did in the second spherical against the Edmonton Oilers.
“They are able to play against top traces,” Ducharme acknowledged. “They confirmed it against [Connor] McDavid in two video games.”
Brett Kulak and Alexander Romanov will enter the lineup on the third protection pair, changing Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson.
“We wished to bring a limited of bit extra skating on our reduction halt with those two guys,” Ducharme acknowledged. “We feel it be critical against them tonight and we’ll build apart a query to.”
Lightning projected lineup
Ondrej Palat — Brayden Level — Nikita Kucherov
Tyler Johnson — Anthony Cirelli — Steven Stamkos
Barclay Goodrow — Yanni Gourde — Blake Coleman
Pat Maroon — Ross Colton — Mathieu Joseph
Victor Hedman — Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev — David Savard
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Luke Schenn, Alex-Barre Boulet, Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, Gemel Smith, Mitchell Stephens, Daniel Walcott, Fredrik Claesson, Cal Foote, Ben Thomas, Christopher Gibson, Spencer Martin
Injured: Alex Killorn (undisclosed)
Canadiens projected lineup
Tyler Toffoli — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher
Cole Caufield — Reduce Suzuki — Josh Anderson
Paul Byron — Jake Evans — Artturi Lehkonen
Joel Armia — Eric Staal — Corey Perry
Ben Chiarot — Shea Weber
Joel Edmundson — Jeff Petry
Alexander Romanov — Brett Kulak
Carey Impress
Jake Allen
Scratched: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Cale Fleury, Jon Merrill, Lukas Vejdemo, Laurent Dauphin, Jesse Ylonen, Alex Belzile, Xavier Ouellet, Otto Leskinen, Michael Frolik, Erik Gustafsson, Tomas Tatar, Cayden Primeau, Charlie Lindgren, Michael McNiven
Injured: None
Dispute file
Killorn is known as a recreation-time decision, Cooper acknowledged. He has neglected the past two video games after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Sport 1 when blocking a shot. … Toffoli will switch as a lot as the pause line and change Lehkonen, who will drop to the third line. Anderson will switch up from the third line to the second line and Caufield will switch from appropriate fly to left fly. The Canadiens fourth line will remain the a comparable from Sport 3.