The Canadiens have prided themselves on being the more physical team in these playoffs, but they might have met their match in Tampa Bay.
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Here are five things you should know about Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final between the Canadiens and the Lightning at Amalie Arena Wednesday (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN-690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
Where we’re at: The Lightning won the first game in the best-of-seven seres 5-1 Monday night. The Canadiens were able to keep the score close through two periods, but Nikita Kucherov, the leading scorer in the playoffs, showed that he’s healthy as he sparked a three-goal explosion in the third period with two goals and an assist. The Canadiens managed only 19 shots on Andrei Vasilevskiy and their only goal was the result of a shot from the blue line by defenceman Ben Chiarot that caromed off two Lightning players on its way into the net.
Match game: The biggest advantage of being the home team is the ability to have the last line change and Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took full advantage of it. He was able to keep the Canadiens’ shutdown line centred by Phil Danault away from his top line of Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Kucherov. Instead, his top line feasted on the line of Nick Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli and Cole Caufield. The Suzuki line managed only three shots on goal and was on the ice for three of the five Tampa Bay goals.
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Physical to the max: The Canadiens have prided themselves on playing a physical game and they have outhit their opponents on a consistent basis throughout the playoffs. They even managed the feat in the semifinal against the Vegas Golden Knights, who were the tallest and heaviest team in the NHL this season. But Montreal may have met its match in Tampa Bay. The Canadiens were credited with a playoff-high 58 hits in Game 1, while the Lightning were right behind with 57. Five of the seven penalties assessed were for roughing and Shea Weber was fined the maximum $5.000 for a late-game slash on Kucherov.
Round one to Vasilevskiy: The much-anticipated goaltending duel between Carey Price and Vasilevskiy failed to materialize. Vasilevskiy received a lot of help from his defence, which limited Montreal to 19 shots on goal and blocked 15 shots. The Russian has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his 19 playoff games and he lowered his goals-against average to 1.94 with a playoff-best .936 save percentage. Price had to deal with turnovers, traffic in front of his net and a defence that managed to block only five shots. Price also gave up five goals in Game 2 in the first-round series against Toronto.
Canadiens at Lightning: Five things you should know - Montreal Gazette
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