The Tampa Bay Lightning have returned to the friendly confines of Amalie Arena, where they’ll take on the Montreal Canadiens in Game Three of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series tonight.
Indeed, the Bolts are in good shape heading into this one. They stole a double-overtime victory in Game One, and completed a total rout in Game Two. A split in Montreal would have been fantastic; to be up 2-0 after two games at the Bell Centre is better than that. Jon Cooper’s squad couldn’t ask for anything more at this point.
While that’s true, the fact of the matter is that Tampa Bay can’t afford to take their foot off the gas. Amalie Arena has been a tough place to play for opponents this season, and the Bolts need to have that trend continue tonight. A 3-0 series lead is a whole lot more comfortable than a 2-1 advantage, especially with Game Four scheduled for tomorrow.
If the Bolts are going to take a stranglehold of this series, they’ll likely do it with a lineup similar to the one that took the first two games in Montreal. There wasn’t a mandatory skate this morning, so it’s impossible to know what Cooper is going to do with his lineup at this point. With that being said, it’s hard to imagine that he will move away from what has worked in the pass. The only potential change would stem from a Cedric Paquette injury; he is being described as a game-time decision. Ben Bishop, as expected, will get the start in net.
The Canadiens, on the other hand, likely won’t be as concerned about their lineup as they will be about responding to their complete collapse in Game Two. Discipline flew out the window, and they became completely unraveled. The end result was a 6-2 loss, and Brandon Prust was fined $5,000 for ripping into the officials. Montreal will need to be much more composed this evening if they are going to right the ship.
In conclusion, this is an opportunity for the Bolts to take complete control of this series. It would be pretty foolish to come out with anything except a complete, 60-minute effort with that on the line. Here’s hoping they do!
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Before signing off, I’m going to throw in a little Q&A my friend Mike Luciano and I completed over the past couple of days. Mike is an incredibly dedicated and talented New Jersey Devils writer. We’ve worked together at a number of websites in the past, so it’s always nice when we can team up for a mini-reunion like this. On the Lightning...
Mike Luciano asks: The Lightning's success can be majorly attributed to a new wave of homegrown forwards that have made immediate impacts on the team, like Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat. Their play has minimized the relevance of 2013 first rounder Jonathan Drouin, who despite having a formidable season, has fallen on Tampa's depth chart. How (if in any way) has the emergence of the trio of young forwards mentioned affected Drouin's overall development and role on the team?
Mike Stuart responds: I think outsiders are often quick to point to Drouin’s performance and scream “bust… or “underperformer… without considering the whole picture. Like you say, the Lightning are an incredibly deep team; squads that get to add players like Drouin at the draft typically don’t have the kind of quality depth that Tampa Bay did in 2013.
So, with that in mind, it’s not really a surprise that Drouin has found himself on the sidelines for good chunks of the year. Would I like to see him get some more time on the ice? Absolutely. Do I think this year is bad for his development, though? Not at all. It’s the exact same treatment Nikita Kucherov got last year, and that seems to have worked out alright.
In addition, it’s not as though Drouin was bad when given the opportunity to play. He was one of the Lightning’s more efficient point scorers, as evidenced by his rate statistics, and he was a positive possession player. What’s abundantly clear is that the future is bright. His time will come in a Lightning uniform, even though that time may not be today.
Mike Luciano asks: After emerging victorious in their seven-game series against Detroit, the Lightning currently find themselves up 2-0 over the Montreal Canadiens as the series heads back to Tampa. Montreal and Detroit have some notable roster and playing-related similarities but are ultimately defined by their respective differences. Compared to Detroit, what's the biggest difference you've noticed about the way Tampa handled the Habs that's given them the early edge in this series that they couldn't attain against the Red Wings?
Mike Stuart responds: Aside from discipline issues, which plagued Montreal in Game Two, I think the single biggest difference is that the Canadiens give Tampa’s skaters more space than the Red Wings did.
It’s interesting, however, because Montreal doesn’t do that for a full 60 minutes. In both the first and second game, the Canadiens looked like the better team early on. They dominated possession, they dictated pace, and they stopped the Lightning from moving the puck through he neutral zone. But, for whatever reason, they haven’t been able to keep that up for the full 60. Tampa has found a way to break through, and that has really been the biggest difference between this series and the first one.
On the Devils...
Mike Stuart asks: The Devils will pick sixth in this year’s NHL draft, and are likely to get a blue-chip prospect as a result. Do you see the Devils taking the best player available, even if it is a defenseman (let’s say Noah Hanifin falls unexpectedly)? Or will they focus on offense? Do you have any names in mind?
Mike Luciano responds: For years, the Devils have had no choice but to take the best player available whenever they drafted in the first round. This is primarily due to them consistently drafting in the mid-low twenties, something Lamoriello has (up until recently) gotten around by always finding that one diamond in the rough (or talent in later rounds).
New general manager Ray Shero is well-informed on where his new team needs to improve the most and is in a position at the draft where the right draft pick could be inserted in next year's lineup. While Shero will more than likely select a forward if he doesn't trade the sixth overall pick, he's always used the draft to shore up on where his team needed the most improvement. The only way I think Shero drafts a defenseman is if his primary forward targets are already taken by the time the Devils are on the clock, and he fails to put together a trade for a top-six forward at the last minute. Hopes are high for a player like Mitch Marner or Mikko Rantanen being available when the Devils pick, which I can only see happening if one or two teams ahead of New Jersey pick defensemen. We know McDavid and Eichel will probably go first and second, while Strome will also likely be gone well before the Devils make their pick. Outside of Marner and Rantanen, I can't see the Devils shying away from drafting a player like Pavel Zacha or Joel Eriksson. Mike Stuart asks: Lou has had complete control of Hockey Operations with the Devils for a long time. With Shero coming in as the new GM, how do you see Lou functioning with the new structure? Will he be able to give Shero enough freedom and space, or will this setup fail?
Mike Luciano responds: For outsiders (whether it be fans, writers, analysts, etc.) this has been a popular subtopic that's come out of this unexpected move. It's become apparent this is something ownership strongly pushed for Lamoriello to follow through with. While Lamoriello cited reasons like his age for bringing Shero onboard, the writing on the wall shows (and has for years) that Lou's hockey-related philosophies haven't gotten the Devils nearly as far in the regular and postseason of the new NHL as they had in the pre-salary cap era.
Lou will remain President of the Devils and will have Shero report to him, but as Lou said, the decisions that come with being General Manager will ultimately be reserved for Shero to make on his own. Perhaps the two biggest tests of Lamoriello's cooperation and role with this new arrangement will be how the Devils fare at the draft, and the route they take in hiring a new coach. In the past Lamoriello has been accused of imposing excessive restrictions on his coaching staff, and a looming concern is those restrictions will bestow themselves onto the operations that Shero carries out. With the revealing that ownership strongly advocated Lamoriello to relinquish his duties as General Manager, along with his age (72), I think Lou will have no choice but to comply with the limitations on his authority moving forward, especially with if he's being closely monitored by a displeased ownership group looking for the Devils to make a playoff run for the first time under their watch.
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As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.