2021 Stanley Cup Final: 3 Keys to Game 2 as Habs look to even up series
These three factors could play a major role in Game 2 of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final.
Game 1 of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final provided a stark reminder of just how good the Tampa Bay Lightning are, with the defending cup champions dismantling the Montreal Canadiens in a big 5-1 win at Amalie Arena on Monday.
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Boasting elite goaltending, depth up and down the lineup, an explosive power play and stars all over the roster, the Bolts could well go down as one of the best teams ever in the modern day NHL and they are chasing history as they go in pursuit of their second straight championship.
Montreal, on the other hand, looked caught out by the occasion in Game 1 and they got away from what made them so successful in the previous three rounds of the Playoffs, while we learned that Carey Price can be beat if he has to deal with screens and traffic all night long.
However, this is the magic of postseason hockey we are talking about and you can expect a big bounce-back game from both Price and the Habs tonight, and they can take comfort from the fact that each of the past three Stanley Cup champions lost Game 1 before winning the series.
Talk about good omens.
It should be an absolute doozy with Amalie Arena expected to be at full capacity tonight, so let’s look at some Keys to the Game…
3 Keys to Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final between the Habs & the Bolts
3. Help Carey Price do what he does best
There was no doubt that the Montreal Canadiens goalie was a leading Conn Smythe contender heading into Game 1, and he will more than likely be crowned the Playoffs MVP if the Habs end up winning the Stanley Cup.
However, Price was exposed on Monday as the Tampa Bay Lightning proved that if you can get traffic to the net, set up screens and take away the eyes of the veteran, then there is a way to beat him and they certainly did that by putting up five goals on the board.
One of the main reasons why the Habs are in the Stanley Cup Final was their ability to stifle teams and play elite-level defense, while relying on their X-Factor between the pipes to stand on his head and perform heroics when the occasion called for it.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the moment, the Canadiens got away from that in Game 1 and they were run out of the building by the Bolts, who scored three of their five goals on deflections with Price left exposed time and time again.
And, while there are a plethora of things Montreal needs to do better if they are to split this series heading back to Canada on Friday, the most important job will be to do a better job of clearing traffic from the front of the net and giving Price as much vision as possible so he can actually see the puck and then stop it.
2. Bolts’ dominant third-line
One of the many reasons why the Tampa Bay Lightning are such a juggernaut is because they are loaded up and down the lineup, boasting incredible strength throughout their roster and they can roll four lines on any given night.
They also addressed their fatal flaw which was a lack of toughness, leading to the franchise ending their postseason pain last year by winning the Stanley Cup inside The Bubble, and that blueprint could lead them to go back-to-back.
Two of the players acquired to help make this star-studded team harder to play against were Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, and the two forwards make up the Lightning’s dynamic third-line alongside center Yanni Gourde.
The trio are a dynamic, unstoppable force that can provide secondary scoring while wearing down opponents with their physicality, with Coleman dishing out 11 hits in Game 1 and absolutely battering his opponents.
Coleman also leads all players with seven drawn penalties which is a crucial stat because it gives this deadly Lightning power play more chance to shine, while Gourde is an elite forechecker and all three can handle the puck and play the possession game.
Tampa Bay Head Coach Jon Cooper did an excellent job of matching up that formidable line against the Phillip Danault line in Game 1, which includes the gritty Brendan Gallagher, and they absolutely shut down one of Montreal’s best lines, proving to be a matchup nightmare in more ways than one.
Cooper will likely start the game with that trio out on the ice and if Coleman, Gourde and Goodrow can chip in offensively tonight too, as well as maintain their wrecking ball-like dominance, then it could be another rough night for the Canadiens and that Danault line in particular.
1. Bombard Vasilevskiy with pucks and traffic
As good as Andrei Vasilevskiy was in Game 1, making 18 saves from 19 shots faced, it wasn’t his toughest night and he was hardly overworked given that the Montreal Canadiens went large stretches without actually getting the puck on net.
They went over 10 minutes of the third period without recording a single shot on goal, ending that period with just five, while they didn’t do a good enough job of generating traffic in front of the net and getting to the dirty areas.
The one time they actually did led to good things as defenseman Ben Chiarot scored his first goal of the postseason with a shot that went in off two Tampa Bay defensemen, but that was the only time the Habs really got bodies to the net.
It was something the Bolts excelled at on Monday, leading to them taking the lead in this series, and Montreal will need to make Vasilevskiy’s job a lot harder tonight if they are to head back to Canada on Friday with a split.
You can’t give an elite goalie like Vasilevskiy an easy ride, so the Habs have to get back to what has made them so successful this postseason, and that includes controlling the puck, getting bodies to the net, setting screens and winning the battle in the dirty areas.
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If they can do just that and score a couple of greasy goals, while doing a better job of protecting Carey Price in their own zone, then Game 2 of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final will be theirs for the taking.