The NHL Playoffs keep rolling along with two mouth-watering games coming your way tonight. Opening festivities tonight is the Game 4 showdown between Tampa Bay and Montreal with the Lightning looking to end their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Canadiens.
Following shortly thereafter is the Game 4 clash between Chicago and Minnesota with the Blackhawks also on the look-out for a second round sweep. Can the Blackhawks and the Lightning end their respective series tonight? Or will Montreal and Minnesota live to fight another day?
Read on for a quick breakdown of these two important games and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of Game 5 between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers here.
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Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (7:00 PM ET)
[sc:NHL240 ]Tampa Bay moved to within a victory of a series sweep after recording a heart-stopping 2-1 victory over Montreal on Wednesday night. Tyler Johnson was the hero for the Lightning, scoring the winning goal with just a second remaining in the game clock. The Lightning are now 5-0 in the postseason when Johnson scores.
Johnson’s star turn wouldn’t be possible, though, without the superb play of Tampa Bay goalkeeper Ben Bishop. He had another excellent performance in Game 3, stopping 30 of Montreal’s 31 shots. He now has an outstanding .961 save percentage against the Habs through the first three games. The total has gone under in Tampa Bay’s last three home games.
Despite outshooting the Bolts by 26 through three games, the Habs have been outscored 10-4 in the series. Part of it is bad luck, as they hit the post three times in Game 3. But the Habs just haven’t had any luck against the Lightning, losing all eight games they’ve played since the regular season.
The Chicago Blackhawks moved a step closer to their third straight Western Conference finals appearance, after edging past the Minnesota Wild, 1-0, in Game 3 on Tuesday night. It’s the first time the Blackhawks have held a 3-0 series lead since they swept the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals back in 2010.
Providing the impetus for Chicago’s impressive playoff run is the returning Patrick Kane. The 26-year-old has been phenomenal for the Blackhawks this postseason, scoring six goals and dishing out five assists in nine playoff games thus far. He scored the only goal on Tuesday night to help the Blackhawks snap their seven-game losing streak in Game 3s on the road.
For the Wild to extend their season later tonight, they need to take advantage of their power play opportunities. The Wild went 0-for-3 with the power play in Game 3 with no shots on goal on two of those three opportunities.
The Blackhawks are 3-1 in their last four road games against the Wild.
