Tampa Bay Lightning Hope To Close Series In Game 4

The Tampa Bay Lightning has the opportunity to close the series tonight as they take on the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4.

The Tampa Bay Lightning has an opportunity tonight to accomplish something that has been one whole year in the making. If the Lightning can focus and channel their Game 2 selves, they could end this series early and send the Montreal Canadiens packing.

They say that sweet revenge is best served cold, and what better way than on the ice? Last season, the Montreal Canadiens unceremoniously ushered the Tampa Bay Lightning out of the playoffs in the First Round, completing an unpleasant sweep.

Now, before the Lightning can start their celebration and start preparing for the next round, there is something they need to focus on…winning tonight’s game. In order to accomplish this, they are going to have to tighten up their game and put on a much better performance than the one they did last night.

Unfortunately, this is going to be easier said than done. Thanks to a previous planned, and recently cancelled, event at the Amalie Arena, the Lightning and Canadiens were forced into a back-to-back series. After a game like last night’s, you can bet that both teams are feeling the after effects.

Here are a few keys that the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to have to grasp in order to come out on top tonight if they want to send the Montreal Canadiens back to Montreal with their playoff journey at an end.

Be More Aggressive
Stay Out of the Penalty Box
Don’t Overpass the Puck
Defend Ben Bishop
Be Consistent

Now, let’s take a quick look at each of those and see what the Lightning has in store for them tonight.

Be More Aggressive

The one thing that separates the Game 2 Lightning from the Game 3 Lightning is their aggressiveness. For a good portion of the game it seemed as if they allowed the Montreal Canadiens to control the pace of the game. If the Lightning want to come out of this game on top, they are going to have to take that position over.

First of all, the Lightning will need to come out of the gate hard and fast, setting the tone for the entire game. Secondly, they will need to do everything in their power to strike first blood. In the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning went 35-7-4 when they scored the first goal. While we are well aware that the post season is a completely different animal, skill simply speaks for itself.

The Tampa Bay Lightning need to be more aggressive with the puck, charge the net, take the shot, and most important dig for the rebound. Despite the fact that Canadiens goaltender Carey Price hasn’t had any luck against the Lightning this season, he is still a top tier netminder.

If they are going to get the best of him, they are going to have to really bring it to him, which means firing from many different spots and peppering him with shots.

Stay Out of the Penalty Box

The Tampa Bay Lightning has never had any luck when it comes to the referees; especially a few select referees who seem to really dislike the Lightning and everything they stand for. This means that the Lightning is going to have to be extra careful when it comes to potential penalty situations.

We understand that there are situations in which a penalty simply cannot be avoided, but there are plenty of times when a simple adjustment could make the difference between a vacation in the penalty box or more time out on the ice.

As we have said all season long, there are only so many times in which you can open the door for your opponent before they come sailing through the door and proceed to slam it in your face. This is what the Lightning will need to strive to prevent.

Don’t Overpass the Puck

This point pretty well speaks for itself. This is something that the Lightning has allowed themselves to fall victim to all season long. Rather than take the obvious shot right in front of them, they will pass the puck one too many times and in more than one case it will end up on the stick of an opposing player.

Not only does it limit the amount of scoring chances for the Lightning, but it opens the Lightning up to 2-on-1 situations in the opposite end and allow more scoring chances for the opposition.

The absolute worst time for something like this to occur is in the defensive zone. There are more times than we would like to admit when a faulty pass in front of the Lightning net has caused the puck to go sailing past Ben Bishop or Andrei Vasilevskiy. In a series where some of the encounters have been as tight as Game 3, opportunities like that simply cannot happen.

Defend Ben Bishop

While we will concede that Lightning netminder Ben Bishop is 6’7” and more than capable of taking care of himself, some of the cheap shots that Bishop has been forced to ensure over the course of the season have borderlined on ridiculous.

Take for example the situation last night where Brandon Prust was allowed to kick Bishop in the wrist and run his skate over the top of it. While this may not seem like the biggest deal in the world due to the fact that Bishop was wearing the proper equipment, allow us to remind you how incredibly sharp that the blades on skates are; especially those crafted for NHL players. This could have caused serious damage.

The best way to defend against something like this is to simply limit their access to Bishop. There are many ways to go about this. The easiest of them is a stronger offense. As the old saying goes, the best defense is a strong offense. In other words, if they don’t control the puck there is no reason for them to be in our zone.

Also, we need to be more aggressive in the neutral zone and not allow the Canadiens to cross so easily into our zone and approach Bishop. Another route would simply be to place someone in front of the net to play interference between the two sides.

We are well aware that the successes and failures of a team do not rest solely on the shoulders of one player, otherwise it wouldn’t be referred to as a team sport, but there is no denying how important Bishop has been to keeping the Lightning in the post season.

Be Consistent

This could very well be the most important of the keys to the game. If the Tampa Bay Lightning come out of the gate like a shot, but then seem to pull back in the second period there is a good opportunity that they are going to be playing catchup in the third period.

In the same respect, if the Lightning come out of the gate with a lack of passion and allow the Canadiens to take an early lead, they will spend the next 40 minutes playing catch up.

In a game and a series like this one, there is simply no room for mistakes like these; especially when it comes to something as incredibly avoidable as this.

As we mentioned before, the Montreal Canadiens have their backs against the wall, and we all know that means that they are going to do whatever it takes to get the job done and send this series back to Montreal. The Tampa Bay Lightning just need to take a deep breath, focus their efforts, and do what they do best…score goals and win games.

This is an incredibly important game for the Tampa Bay Lightning; one that could determine the direction this series is going to take. This means that the Lightning is going to need their Thunder now more than ever. Whether you are heading to the Amalie Arena tonight, watching from the plaza, or from the comfort of your own couch, the Lightning need us to scream as loud and proud as possible for our Boys in Blue.

Are you ready to Be The Thunder? We know we are!

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. at the Amalie Arena. Still looking for a way to catch all the action? Well, here’s a look at all the information you’ll need to make sure you don’t miss a moment of the action.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Drop Montreal with a Last Second Goal

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