Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.
The Stanley Cup will be in the building tonight with the Tampa Bay Lightning needing just one more win to sweep the 2021 Stanley Cup Final and repeat as champions, while the Montreal Canadiens will be looking to force a Game 5.
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It hasn’t been a classic of a Stanley Cup Final so far given that the Lightning have dominated, and there seems no stopping the best team in hockey as they close in on their second straight championship.
Tonight’s game at Bell Centre should be a doozy though given everything on the line, with the Bolts desperate to close this one out while the Habs really are in do-or-die territory now, and they will be playing desperate hockey in a bid to stay alive for another day.
Montreal Interim Head Coach Dominique Ducharme has made some changes for tonight with defenseman Alexander Romanov set to make his Stanley Cup Final debut, while forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi will be a healthy scratch.
Whether those tweaks will be enough to extend this series remains to be seen, but we are assured of two teams going all out with so much on the line and we could well see Lord Stanley lifted come the end of the night.
So, on that note, let’s delve right in and get you set for tonight’s main event with everything you need to know…
2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 4: TV, Lineups, Streaming, More
Date:
Monday, July 5, 2021
Time:
8:00 P.M. Eastern Time
Where:
Bell Centre, Montreal
TV Broadcast:
NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS
Radio:
TSN Radio 690 (Montreal) / 970 WFLA-AM (Tampa Bay)
Livestreaming
fuboTV has live NHL games on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and USA in which you can stream from your phone, television, and all your favorite devices. This is a service that broadcasts live TV over the internet, no cable required. Watch your favorite teams, network shows, news, and movies on 100+ channels. Plus on-demand entertainment including full TV series. fuboTV is currently available in the United States, Canada, and Spain.
Betting
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Lineups
Here are the projected lineups for the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ondrej Palat – Brayden Point – 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)
Montreal Canadiens
Tyler Toffoli – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Cole Caufield – Nick 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 Price
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
Tale of the Tape
Catch up on the key stats ahead of Game 4:
Record: Tampa Bay Lightning – 15-6 / Montreal Canadiens – 12-8
Goals For: Tampa Bay Lightning – 72 / Montreal Canadiens – 48
Goals Against: Tampa Bay Lightning – 42 / Montreal Canadiens – 51
Power Play %: Tampa Bay Lightning – 36.7% / Montreal Canadiens – 20.4%
Penalty Kill %: Tampa Bay Lightning – 83.1% / Montreal Canadiens – 90.6%
Team Leaders
Tampa Bay Lightning Postseason Leaders
- Nikita Kucherov: 32 points (8 G, 24 A)
- Brayden Point: 23 points (14 G, 9 A)
- Steven Stamkos: 18 points (8 G, 10 A)
- Victor Hedman: 18 points (2 G, 16 A)
- Alex Killorn: 17 points (8 G, 9 A)
Montreal Canadiens Postseason Leaders
- Nick Suzuki: 15 points (7 G, 8 A)
- Tyler Toffoli: 14 points (5 G, 9 A)
- Cole Caufield: 10 points (4 G, 6 A)
- Corey Perry: 10 points (4 G, 6 A)
- Joel Armia: 8 points (5 G, 3 A)
Stat of the Day
The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to create a little slice of history tonight by becoming the first team to sweep a Stanley Cup Final since the Detroit Red Wings accomplished the feat in 1998 against the Washington Capitals.
X-Factors
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price was our X-Factor last time but, if the Canadiens are to live to fight another day, then it will be because their goalie plays out of his mind between the pipes.
While the Habs have made a lot of lineup changes for Game 4, their biggest downfall in the Stanley Cup Final has been goaltending but if Price can return to the elite level he played at during the first three rounds of the postseason, then they have firepower to be able to force a Game 5.
Price has allowed 14 goals in three games and he’s been exposed when it comes to screens and deflections, while costly turnovers by his teammates have hardly helped his cause either. After all, you can’t make mistakes against a team as elite as the Bolts and expect to get away with it.
But we’ve seen this postseason that Price can win games on his own with the pressure really on, and he will have to do so again tonight if the Canadiens want to keep their season alive.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikita Kucherov has been lights out this postseason for the second consecutive year, and he could well end up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy when all is said and done this series.
The forward has 32 points (8 G, 24 A) in 21 Playoff games while averaging 17:56 of total ice time, and he has two multi-point games in this series already.
With the Canadiens going to be playing desperate hockey in order to avoid elimination, there will be opportunities for Kucherov to do what he does best and if he can have a big night and lead the Lightning to a series sweep and a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship, then expect him to be crowned MVP too.
Prediction
This is a tough one to call given that the Montreal Canadiens are not going to want what has been an incredible postseason run to end in a sweep, especially on home ice, and this team has shown plenty of character when responding to adversity throughout the Playoffs.
However, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been here before, they know what it takes to win, they know what it takes to close out a series and winning the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year by sweeping this series would just add to their overall legacy as an elite powerhouse.
So, with that in mind, and although I expect Carey Price to have his first great game of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, I can’t go against the Lightning here and I think their Playoff experience will shine through and they will lift Lord Stanley come the end of the night.