2021 Stanley Cup Final: 3 most compelling storylines in Game 5
Will we see the Stanley Cup on the ice after Game 5 tonight?
We’ve got more postseason hockey tonight with Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, and the Tampa Bay Lightning will look to clinch on home ice at Amalie Arena after losing to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4.
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It was the Habs’ best performance of this series by quite some distance, and they will need to play at a similar level if they are to extend the Stanley Cup Final further and force a Game 6 back in Montreal.
Tampa will be doing everything they can to ensure that doesn’t happen, however, and they’ve been here before having lost in Game 5 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, before winning Game 6 against the Dallas Stars to win their first championship since 2004.
If the Lightning were to finish the job tonight in their own building, then it will be the ninth time they have won at Amalie Arena in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, tying the mark set by the 2004 championship-winning team.
So, on that note, let’s delve into some of the more compelling subplots that will be at play throughout tonight’s game…
3 Most Compelling Storylines in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final
3. Triple Threat
This was at play in Game 4, but this could be quite the night for Pat Maroon, who is on the cusp of winning his third straight Stanley Cup.
Yes, you heard that right. If the Lightning close this series out in Game 5, Maroon will join the short list of players that have won three consecutive Stanley Cups.
Maroon would become only the fourth player in NHL history and the first since 1964 to win a cup three seasons in a row with two different teams, having won with the St. Louis Blues in 2018 and then with Tampa Bay last year.
It has been quite the ride for the “Big Rig” as he is affectionally known, who has been a bottom-line grinder with the ability to drop the gloves for most of his career, although he’s hardly been a bit-part player over the last two postseason runs he’s been involved in.
He played key roles for the Blues in 2018 and for the Bolts in 2019, while he scored the goal that sent Game 4 to Overtime on Monday and, trusted by Head Coach Jon Cooper, don’t be surprised if Maroon comes up with another big moment in Game 5 as he chases his third ring in as many years.