Overview
- The series heads back to Tampa for Game 5 on Wednesday after the Lightning erased a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 in Montreal on Sunday.
- Montreal has stayed even without a single 5-on-5 point from its top six forwards, with the Suzuki–Caufield–Slafkovsky line producing only on the power play.
- Jon Cooper has steered Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli into the Suzuki matchup, and with Hagel on the ice Suzuki’s 5-on-5 share has dropped to 38% of shots and 33% of expected goals.
- A second-period center-ice hit by Tampa’s Max Crozier on Juraj Slafkovsky preceded the Lightning’s rally in Game 4, and Brandon Hagel scored both the tying and winning goals in the third period.
- With goaltending nearly level between Jakub Dobes (.883 SV%, 2.60 GAA) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (.882, 2.58), special teams stand out as a separator as Montreal’s power play has converted at 26.3% to Tampa Bay’s 20%.