Lightning look to make most out of second chance to close out Canadiens
One game after the Tampa Bay Lightning successfully went for the jugular, they missed a follow up chance in Game 4 and the Montreal Canadiens blitzed them for six goals to avoid a sweep.
That wasn’t the first time Tampa has fallen flat after a big win in these playoffs. Their dominant 5-1 win in Game 2 against the Detroit Red Wings in Round 1 was followed up with a 3-0 loss. Two days after their come-from-behind overtime win against the Red Wings in Game 4 the Lightning were flat in a 4-0 shutout.
Now, after three straight wins over Montreal, including a dramatic buzzer-beating 2-1 victory in Game 3, Tampa failed to close out the series, allowing a desperate Canadiens side to have hope heading into Game 5 Saturday night at Bell Centre.
“We are just way too loose defensively, and (Thursday) night we were thinking about the wrong net,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We have to start thinking about our net. We have been based on defense this whole postseason. We’ve been great back there, and the amount of shots and scoring chances we gave up (Thursday) night, that’s not our game. We get applauded for our goal-scoring ability and things like that, but sometimes I look back and we’ve been a pretty good defensive team, especially in the playoffs.”
The Lightning had been solid defensively since that Game 4 loss to the Red Wings, only allowing more than one goal twice in five games before Thursday night’s shellacking.
The fourth win in a series, as the cliche goes, is the toughest to get. Tampa is on the brink of a return trip to the Eastern Conference Final, their first since 2011. But even they admitted a performance like Game 4 was coming.
“If you look at that game, Game 3, we didn’t deserve to win that way, and quite frankly, we deserved the beating we got last night,” said defenseman Anton Stralman. “We need to re-group, make sure we stay on top of things and make sure we figure this out.”
When the Stanley Cup Playoffs give you opportunity, you make victories with it. The Lightning realize that now and aren’t worrying yet after one loss.
“We’re up 3-1 in the second round of the playoffs,” said Lightning forward Brian Boyle. “I like where we’re at right now.”
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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