2021 Stanley Cup Final: 4 Takeaways from an absolute classic Game 4
Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final was an absolute classic and we had some takeaways.
We will get more Playoff hockey thanks to the Montreal Canadiens who beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Overtime in Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final on Monday, and Game 5 is set for Wednesday in Tampa.
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It was a doozy of a postseason showdown at Bell Centre in Montreal last night as the Habs showed plenty of fight to stay alive in this series, while the Lightning will now have to wait another game at least in order to get their hands on Lord Stanley.
Canadiens forward Josh Anderson, who was the clear MVP of Game 4, gave his team their first lead of this series at 15:39 in the first period with the Bolts never having trailed in the Stanley Cup Final up until that point, although Barclay Goodrow made it a tied game late in the second.
Alexander Romanov, making his Stanley Cup Final debut and appearing in just his third postseason game of his young career, scored his first career Playoffs goal with a shot from the point at 8:48 in the third to put the Habs back on top, but two-time Stanley Cup Champion Pat Maroon came up with another big goal at 13:48 to send the game to OT.
As they have done throughout this postseason, Montreal overcame more adversity after killing off a long four minute power play that stretched into OT after Shea Weber drew blood with a high stick on Ondrej Palat, and that led to a thrilling finale.
At 3:57 in Overtime, Anderson raced into the offensive zone with the puck and, after the initial play was broken up, the forward dived to locate the puck before somehow getting it past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the game-winner to keep the season alive for the Habs.
It was just typical Playoff hockey excitement and we had some takeaways from the game we wanted to share…
4 Main Takeaways from Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final as Montreal stays alive
4. Montreal’s historic PK
We aren’t talking enough about the Montreal Canadiens and their red hot penalty kill. It has been unbeatable for the duration of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it has somehow slowed down one of the most potent power plays in the entire National Hockey League.
Tampa Bay was operating at a 37.7 percent clip on the man advantage heading into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, going 20-for-53 with Nikita Kucherov scoring 17 points on the PP.
However, the Bolts are now converting at a 33.9 percent clip having stumbled across a penalty kill unit that is proving almost impossible to beat and will go down in Playoffs history as one of the best.
And that isn’t even an overstatement. It has been that good.
The Canadiens killed off 30 straight penalties heading into this series and, while they have been been beat a couple of times, they’ve been pretty much perfect and they went 5-for-5 in Game 4 to improve to an incredible and unthinkable 91.4 percent.
That isn’t all, however. With time running out in regulation, Canadiens Captain Shea Weber was assessed a double-minor after high-sticking Tampa forward Ondrej Palat and drawing blood, leading to a four minute power play for the Lightning.
Montreal forced the game to Overtime, though, and they killed off the long man advantage with excellent work in the defensive zone and around the net, leading to Josh Anderson scoring the OT winner to force a Game 5.
Every single Head Coach in the NHL should be studying the Canadiens’ penalty kill and getting ready to show clips to their teams in preseason because Montreal is rewriting the blueprint for how you kill power plays in the postseason.
3. McDonagh’s Underrated Brilliance
We won’t say too much here because we’re working on a separate story, but Ryan McDonagh is one of the most underrated and unsung defensemen in the National Hockey League. Period.
Acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a blockbuster trade with the New York Rangers at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline, McDonagh has established himself as a key cog in this well-oiled machine and he’s been critical to their recent success.
A crucial part of their Stanley Cup success last year, McDonagh is playing a bigger role this season and he had a Game 4 for the ages, displaying all of the attributes and qualities that makes him so valuable to this Tampa Bay team.
He finished the night with one point, three hits and three blocked shots in 24:23 minutes of total ice time, including logging time on both the power play and on the penalty kill.
And there was one play that stood out in particular. In the second period with Tampa Bay trailing by a single goal, McDonagh pinched at the Canadiens blue line to intercept Jeff Petry‘s pass and keep the play alive.
TIE GAME late in the second period! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/8ylrzzVSHn
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) July 6, 2021
That wasn’t all, however. McDonagh then charged the net and created space for Goodrow, grabbing the rebound after Carey Price had made a save on a Blake Coleman shot and dishing a sublime no-look, backhanded pass to Goodrow who had an open-net to make it a tied game.
It was the clutch pass of the postseason so far but the whole play by McDonagh was just a masterclass in how to jump into the play and join the rush as a defenseman, and it was yet another example of why he should get more consideration as a Norris Trophy contender.
McDonagh probably should be talked about in the Conn Smythe conversation too given that he now has seven assists in these Playoffs to go along with a plus / minus rating of +17 that leads all postseason skaters, and the fact that he has also assisted on three game-winning goals in this year’s Playoffs.
Overall, McDonagh, who has played more postseason games than anyone else since 2010 (161), continues to go under the radar as one of the most effective and dominant defensemen in the National Hockey League but, as we saw in Game 4, that shouldn’t be the case.
It is about time we give Ryan McDonagh the boatload of praise and credit he deserves.
2. Suzuki & Caufield are the future
No matter what happens the rest of the way in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the Montreal Canadiens know they have a bright future led by the dynamic duo of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Playing on the second-line together, the two studs have been getting it done for the Habs throughout the postseason and they’ve been the main bright sparks for their team throughout this series.
Sure, there have been some mistakes with Caufield committing a turnover that led to Tampa Bay scoring an empty-netter in Game 3, but you have to remember that the 20-year-old hasn’t even played his rookie season yet having appeared in just 10 regular season games in 2020-21.
Other than that, Caufield and Suzuki have been electric to watch and they were the main driving forces for Montreal in Game 4, with Suzuki providing a sublime pass to set up Josh Anderson for the first goal of the game in the first period, which was the first time that the Habs had taken the lead in this series.
Then, not wanting to be outdone by his line-mate, Caufield was credited with an assist on Anderson’s game-winner in Overtime, making him the first rookie in the history of the National Hockey League to record three OT points in a single postseason. Just incredible.
Both players have just been lights out in the Playoffs and they are a key reason why the Canadiens are still alive in this series, and they will both be huge pieces for this team for the long-term future.
1. Price Finally Delivers
This was the Carey Price game we were all waiting for.
After being shelled in the first three games of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final – allowing 13 goals on 79 shots for a 4.39 Goals Against Average and an .835 Save Percentage – the pressure was on the veteran goalie to finally turn up in Game 4.
And he delivered alright.
Knowing that his performance between the pipes would be key to the Habs living to fight another day, Price got back to what made him so unstoppable through the first three rounds of the postseason, being locked in from the first drop of the puck to stop the first 11 shots he faced.
He remained calm under pressure and he was huge on the penalty kill, stopping all nine shots the Lightning generated on the power play as Montreal went a perfect 5-for-5 on the PK, and Price was a huge reason behind that success.
Next. Josh Anderson Game 4 MVP. dark
Price just gave his teammates the confidence needed to do their jobs, and his legacy in elimination games lives on given that he is now 4-0 when his teams face elimination, boasting a stellar .944 Save Percentage and a 1.85 Goals Against Average.
This was the Carey Price the Montreal Canadiens so badly needed and we will see if he can play the role of hero again in Game 5 as the Habs look to make this series a little bit more interesting.