When it comes to postseason winning, the Tampa Bay Lightning are no longer trying to figure it out. The Lightning won a Stanley Cup less than a year ago. They have a roster and a playing style that works for them. As coach Jon Cooper puts it, if they play the way they want to play, and execute, "we like our chances." But being in the Stanley Cup Final is a new experience for the Montreal Canadiens. They have players who have won Cups with other teams. But this group hasn't been this far together. The Final is different than the other three playoff rounds. And the Habs haven't been in the Final since 1993. Several of their players weren't born the last time Canadiens were in the Final. The Lightning franchise was only one year-old.
The Canadiens went to school in a 5-1 loss in Game 1 and here's what they learned:
Nikita Kucherov can hurt you, even when injured: While he may not be 100% because of his undisclosed injury, the Habs are not playing a player with diminished capacity. Posted two goals and an assist in Game 1 and looked dangerous all night.
Defending the castle is different against the Lightning: The Habs Big Four defensemen can't hunker down in front of Carey Price and use their physical attributes to punish Lightning players who camp in front of the net. Lightning forwards don't joust with defensemen. They dart in and out of the defense.
Watch and listen to the @HockeyBuzz Buzzcast for your daily #NHL news and rumors on:@YouTube https://t.co/yKfvRAkraC@TuneIn https://t.co/gseaUhfA7V@ApplePodcasts https://t.co/M5dT4bhrDt
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) January 5, 2021
Defensive zone faceoffs are critical: The Habs have had some difficulty this postseason on defensive zone draws, and it cost them in Game 1. Brayden Point won a draw cleanly and Kucherov turned the win into a key goal.
Stars gotta be stars: Kucherov scored two and Steven Stamkos had a goal. Point had three assists. Montreal's three top playoff scorers -- Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield -- were a combined -9 with no points and only three shots on goal. To beat Tampa Bay, Montreal needs a productive series by their top scorers.
Their penalty-killing isn't invincible: When scored on the power play, Montreal penalty killing streak ended at 32 consecutive kills. The Canadiens hadn't given up a power play goal in 13 games. But they hadn't faced a power play that connects 37.4% of the time. Montreal's power play is at 20%.
Lightning hit back: The Canadiens have been hard to play against throughout the playoffs. They don't give opponents room to operate and they smack you at every opportunity. The Lightning have the instincts to find seams in Montreal's defensive coverage and hit the Canadiens as often as they were hit. There were 115 hits in the game and Montreal owned a one-hit advantage Lightning defensive play is formidable: We've been talking about Montreal's defensive excellence, but the Lightning are only giving up two goals per game in the postseason. Montreal's GAA is 2.33. The Lightning didn't give up much in the first game. Possession was nine-tenths of the loss: If Canadiens want to win this series, they have to manage the puck better than they did in Game 1. They learned if they turn the puck over at the Tampa Bay blue line, it's coming back at their goalie in an instant. They weren't ready for the Lightning counter-attack.
Price is right: The Lightning have seen enough of Price that he doesn't get into their heads. But we saw in Game 1 that Price is capable of keeping Montreal competitive in every game. Despite what the score suggests, Price made important saves in this
The Habs have a shot to win: The 5-1 final score doesn't reflect that Montreal was in the game going into the third. Tampa Bay led 2-1 after two periods. That's a truth the team will be talking about today.