2021 Stanley Cup Final: 3 Reasons why the Montreal Canadiens can win Game 4 to stay alive
If the Montreal Canadiens do these three things, then they can force a Game 5 in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.
It is do-or-die time for the Montreal Canadiens who face elimination in Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final at Bell Centre tonight, and they will want to avoid seeing the Tampa Bay Lightning lift the Stanley Cup in their own building.
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Things haven’t gone right for the Habs so far in this series, with the surprise package of the postseason struggling to matchup against the best team in the NHL, and arguably one of the most loaded rosters we have seen in recent years.
Poor goaltending, costly turnovers and a real lack of offense have all been driving forces behind the Canadiens being down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final, and they must right all three of those wrongs if they are to live to fight another day.
Only one team in the long history of the NHL has erased a 3-0 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup Final – the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 – and while that will be the ultimate goal of the Habs, they must focus on forcing a Game 5 first.
3 Reasons why the Montreal Canadiens can win Game 4 to extend series
3. Fresh Faces
Drastic times call for drastic measures and, facing elimination, Montreal Head Coach Dominique Ducharme has tweaked his lineup for Game 4, changes he hopes will spark his team into life and inspire a big-time performance.
Forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been scratched with Jake Evans taking his place as the third-line center, while rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov will come in to make his Stanley Cup Final debut.
Brett Kulak will also come into the lineup and will partner Romanov on the third-pairing with Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson both coming out of the lineup, and Romanov will certainly help with the transition game given his smooth skating ability.
Evans is an energy player and that third-line along with Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen will bring plenty of speed and hustle to the table, while they will be able to match up against the Lightning’s top two-lines having done a good job of doing just that earlier in the postseason.
Energy and speed has been missing from this lineup through the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final, so if the new faces can come in and bring those qualities by the bucketload and make an immediate and sizeable impact, then that could help the Habs to take Game 4 and extend this series for at least another couple of days.