Watch tonight’s Canadiens vs Lightning game four online by clicking on the link at the bottom of this Lightning vs Canadiens game preview. Tampa Bay hits the ice in Montreal at 7 P.M. Eastern Standard Time.
Look for the Canadiens to come into tonight’s game pumped. The Habs bring a 3-0 series lead and have the chance to sent the Lightning to the shaving mirror and on to the golf course with a win in tonight’s game four matchup. The Lightning have lacked that spark that brought them into the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs as a team many experts believed could make a serious Cup run. They’ll need to regroup and bring some real electricity into tonight’s game in Montreal if they don’t want to see their playoff life dashed.
The Canadiens have seen solid offensive production from all four of their lines in the Lightning vs Canadiens series – something they often lacked during the regular season. Line mates Rene Bourque and Lars Eller had only 21 goals combined during the entire regular season, but in the first three games of the Canadiens vs Lightning series, Eller already has two goals and two assists and Bourque has three goals.
An AP report quotes Eller on the improved production:
“Right now we have momentum and we’re riding that wave. We knew depth was going to be important and I think a big part of why we’re having success is we have all four lines contributing in one way or another I guess the playoffs are just bringing out the best in all of us.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning wish the playoffs would get around to bringing out the best in them. Only three teams in NHL history have come back from an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs (against the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals), the 1975 New York Islanders (in the second round of the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins ) and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers (against the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference semis). The Canadiens – who have won more Stanley Cups than any other NHL team despite a 20 year drought since their last Stanley Cup in 1993 – have held a 3-0 series lead 31 times. They’ve never lost a series with a 3-0 lead.
The Lightning hope to change that starting with game four of the Canadiens vs Lightning series. Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos has this to say headed into tonight’s game four with his team’s playoff life hanging by a thread:
“We realize the situation we’re in. We just have to win one game. Our backs are against the wall. I’m pretty sure you’re going to see a good effort from us. That’s our motto right now: Just win one, then let’s go back home and see what happens.”
Don’t miss a single shot, save or bone crushing check in tonight’s Lightning vs Canadiens game four. You can watch the Canadiens vs Lightning game four streaming online for free here.