The Tampa Bay Lightning have a chance to put the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-1 hole in Game 4 on Monday.
The rematch of last year’s first-round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets has gone much differently than last year. Last season, the Blue Jackets upset the Lightning by sweeping them in four games. This time around, Tampa already has a 2-1 series lead after three games and could put Columbus behind the eight-ball by taking a 3-1 series lead in Monday’s Game 4.
Game 4 is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. EST. In Game 3, Tampa beat Columbus 3-2, though the score didn’t reflect how close the game was. Tampa was clearly the better team, but once again, Joonas Korpisalo managed to keep Columbus in the game.
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The two teams have alternated wins so far, with the Lightning winning Games 1 and 3 and the Blue Jackets winning Game 2. Tampa would love to change that trend and put all the pressure on Columbus to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.
UPDATED ODDS
According to Odds Shark, here are the betting lines for this afternoon’s game.
- TBL: -170
- CBJ: +150
- Over/under: 5 goals
And here are their updated Stanley Cup odds.
- TBL: +650
- CBJ: +2800
INJURY REPORT
For the Blue Jackets, both forward Josh Anderson and backup goaltender Elvis Merzilkins will miss Game 4 due to injuries. Both Cam Atkinson and Nathan Gerbe are listed as day-to-day and will most likely be game-time decisions for Columbus. Atkinson has not played in either of their last two games.
Meanwhile, for the Lightning, it doesn’t appear they’ll have Steven Stamkos back. He’s listed as day-to-day and so is defenseman Jan Rutta.
STARTING GOALTENDERS
Tampa will stick with Andrei Vasilevskiy in net with Curtis McElhinney serving as his backup. On the other side of the ice, Columbus will go with Joonas Korpisalo. Matiss Kivlenieks will be his backup.
LIVE STREAM INFORMATION
Date: Monday, August 17
Start Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV Channel: NBCSN, SN360, SN1, TVAS, FS-O, SUN
Live Stream: Fubo.tv (subscription required but you get a free trial), r/NHL Streams, NBC
Will the Blue Jackets be able to tie up the series? Or will the Lightning grab a 3-1 series lead? You’ll have to tune in to find out!