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.
2. Land The First Blow
It is no coincidence that the Lightning have scored the first goal in each of the first three games of this series, including scoring two in the opening five minutes of Game 3, and going on to win all three contests.
You can’t give an elite team like Tampa Bay head starts like that, and you aren’t going to win if you keep giving yourselves a gigantic mountain to climb.
Coming from behind in games is hard enough as it is let alone against the Bolts who have gotten stellar goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy throughout the Playoffs, while they have incredible depth and an abundance of star power.
Tampa just has too much quality up and down the lineup so if you spot them a lead they are going to run with it, and they also don’t get enough credit for their defensive play and how they are able to shut teams down once they have a lead.
They’ve done that to Montreal throughout the Stanley Cup Final and limited them to just five goals in three games, and that obviously has to change if the Habs are to avoid seeing their season come to a crushing end.
And scoring first tonight could be huge when it comes to the mental aspect of the game. If the Canadiens can land the first blow of the game, that will give this team so much confidence and it will give the 3,500 fans inside the Bell Centre something to cheer about, which wasn’t the case in Game 3.
It could also disrupt the Lightning and force them to get desperate the longer the game goes on, and you can be sure that those fans lucky enough to be in attendance will make plenty of noise if the Habs are leading late into the third period.
You can’t overstate how important it is for Montreal to come out swinging tonight because, if they have another slow start and spot the Lightning another lead, it may be tough to come back and that will be the series and the season over.
1. Time For Vintage Price
We outlined it here and it has been said in a thousand other places, but Carey Price has to be at the peak of his powers for the Montreal Canadiens tonight. If he’s not, then it is game over. Period.
Many experts had the Conn Smythe Trophy on its way to Price before the 2021 Stanley Cup Final even started given just how outstanding he was through the first three rounds of the Playoffs, with his performance in the semifinals against the Vegas Golden Knights in particular just breathtaking.
There were some questions as to whether or not the six time All-Star had left his best days behind him given that he endured a below-average regular season, but he reminded everyone of why he is one of the finest goalies of his generation come Playoffs time.
However, all of that magic has disappeared in this series with Price being shelled, allowing 13 goals on 79 shots for a 4.39 Goals Against Average and an .835 Save Percentage.
That just isn’t going to get the job done.
He has been outshone by Andrei Vasilevskiy who has been brilliant between the pipes for the Lightning, and the Canadiens have no chance of forcing a Game 5 and heading back to Tampa unless Price gets back to what he was, stands on his head and wins Game 4 on his own.
Granted, the defense has to do a much better job of protecting their goalie and ensuring that he can see through traffic and screens, but it is on Price to play at a much higher level than he has over the last three games.
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If he can and delivers the kind of jaw-dropping, game-winning performance we’ve all been waiting for in the Final, then the champagne may have to be put on ice for the Bolts for at least another couple of days and the Canadiens can look forward to a Game 5.