KEYS TO THE GAME<\/p>\n
Discipline\u2026 again!<\/p>\n
We\u2019re starting to sound like a broken record, but 32 minor penalties taken over four games will do that to you. At this stage, it\u2019s not just a stat, it\u2019s a storyline. If the Canadiens want to tilt this series in their favor, staying out of the box\u00a0is\u00a0essential.<\/p>\n
Start strong, finish stronger<\/p>\n
The Habs\u00a0have shown they can set the tone early, but in Games 2 and 4, they\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0carry it through. Strong starts only matter if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0backed by complete efforts. In Tampa,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0about putting together a full 60 minutes\u00a0and\u00a0closing with the same urgency they open with, especially when the game is on the line.<\/p>\n
Bounce-back\u00a0mindset<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a defining trait all season. When the Canadiens have been knocked down,\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0consistently found a way to respond.\u00a0That resilience will be put to the test again\u00a0on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
HEAD-TO-HEAD<\/p>\n
Regular season<\/p>\n
Dec. 9 vs. TBL:\u00a06-1 TBL<\/p>\n
Dec. 28 @ TBL:\u00a05-4 TBL (SO)<\/p>\n
Mar. 31 @\u00a0TBL:\u00a04-1 MTL<\/p>\n
Apr. 9 vs.\u00a0TBL:\u00a02-1 MTL<\/p>\n
Playoffs<\/p>\n
Game 1 | Apr. 19 @\u00a0TBL:\u00a04-3 MTL (OT)<\/p>\n
Game 2 | Apr. 21 @ TBL:\u00a03-2 TBL (OT)<\/p>\n
Game 3 | Apr. 24 vs.\u00a0TBL:\u00a03-2 MTL (OT)<\/p>\n
Game 4\u00a0| Apr. 26 vs. TBL:\u00a03-2 TBL<\/p>\n
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR<\/p>\n
Cole\u00a0Caufield is a streak scorer, and with his first of the series coming in Game 4, the Canadiens will be counting on their top trigger man to heat up at the right time down the stretch of this first-round battle.<\/p>\n
On the other side, Brandon Hagel continues to set the pace for Tampa Bay. The 27-year-old has been a constant presence and enters with a\u00a0playoff-leading six goals through four games.\u00a0Containing\u00a0his\u00a0impact\u00a0will be a priority for Montreal.<\/p>\n
BY THE NUMBERS: HABS-BOLTS<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the\u00a0Canadiens\u00a0and\u00a0Lightning\u00a0match up by the numbers:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KEYS TO THE GAME Discipline\u2026 again! We\u2019re starting to sound like a broken record, but 32 minor penalties…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-636851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}