Canadiens face 3-1 hole; Lightning want title at home
The Montreal Canadiens are no strangers to adversity. They've continuously shown their resolve throughout their dazzling run to the Stanley Cup finals, notably climbing out of a 3-1 first-round series deficit against the heavily favored Toronto Maple Leafs.
Now, after staving off elimination in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against Tampa Bay Monday night, they're looking to overcome that 3-1 series deficit once more.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Tampa Bay.
Montreal's Game 4 win was the eighth time in NHL history a team won Game 4 in the finals after finding itself in a 0-3 hole. Of the eight, three of those teams extended the series to at least six games.
“I think you look at the playoffs as a whole and there's ups and downs and peaks and valleys, momentum shifts here, momentum shifts there,” said Montreal's Corey Perry. “You just have to be ready to play that next game … it's just hockey. Have fun, be prepared to work.”
Tuesday, both teams had to travel back to Tampa Bay, with
Tropical Storm Elsa expected to hit the area. It's yet another twist in a hectic NHL season.
“I think anything that happens right now and for a while, we just take it and look at it, and say it's probably part of our destiny,” Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme said. “It's been crazy. But we're a crazy bunch of guys in here, and we're going to take that challenge.”
The Canadiens made multiple lineup changes Monday for Game 4, including scratching Jesperi Kotkaniemi in favor of Jake Evans. They also sat Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill for Brett Kulak and rookie Alexander Romanov.
Ducharme said there is a chance all changes will remain intact for Wednesday since he liked the different look, but decisions will be made closer to game time. Romanov scored Monday for his first career NHL playoff goal in only his third playoff game. Romanov was the fourth player 21 years old or younger to score for the Canadiens during the postseason.
Tampa Bay knows it missed an opportunity Monday night. It had the edge in the first period, throwing pucks to the net and getting pressure on Carey Price. But, as the game continued, Montreal continued to stick around — just
enough to keep the Lightning at bay and push the series back to Amalie Arena.
“You turn the page pretty quick here this morning and you realize what a great opportunity you have here as a team, as a group and as an organization up 3-1 in the series and you've got to win one more,” Lightning defenseman Ryan Mcdonagh said. “You're going into obviously a place you're familiar with, with a
fan base that's going to be behind us.”
The slight positive in the Lightning heading back to Tampa Bay for Game 5, as Mcdonagh noted, is the chance for the team to win in front of their fan base. They didn't get to do so last year, when the team beat the Stars in the finals while playing in Edmonton because of the pandemic.
“Our fans have been unbelievable all season through the ups and downs, so to go back to Amalie and play for our fans is always pretty special,” center Anthony Cirelli said. “And like I said just an opportunity, and, you know, we're not looking too far ahead and we're just gonna be focused on, you know, a period of time and be ready to go from the first."
Tampa Bay's lineup for Wednesday is still in question. The Lightning were still without Alex Killorn on Monday and Coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday “there's always a chance” he would play Game 5.
“Sweeping a team's hard to do. It's hard enough just to beat a team, let alone to take them out in four and we're in the Stanley Cup final,” Cooper said. “Those are rare that that happens. Teams don't fluke their way to the final. It's two good hockey teams playing each other. Guys understand that.”