Lightning Must Find Desire, Will to Win to Remain Viable Against Montreal

Nikita Kucherov has a goal and three assists through three games of the Eastern Conference First Round, and his presence will be key for the Lightning to move forward. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports

By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports

The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in a situation as they enter Sunday night's Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens. Losing two of the three games, including one at home, has the team in a must-win situation tonight at the Bell Centre. With both teams evenly matched, Montreal has found a way to lead and control the series' tempo. But there is one thing that the Canadiens can't control that can help the Lightning claw back into the series:

The Lightning must find that deep desire and will to win that has been lacking.

Game 2 overtime aside, the Lightning haven't been playing Lightning Hockey. At least not the Lightning hockey we saw from mid-December through the start of February. We haven't seen Lightning hockey as it should be in quite some time.

That glimpse of Lightning hockey came in Game 2, when the Lightning outshot the Canadiens, 9-0, and JJ Moser scored the game-winning goal to even the series.

There have been moments here and there. Brandon Hagel has been a monster on the ice this series, with four goals and an assist.

Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov have had their moments in this series. Kucherov scored the game-tying goal in Game 2 that led to the overtime victory. Point scored his first goal of the series in Game 3 after a quiet start.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had a stellar performance in Game 3, keeping the Lightning in the game by stopping three breakaways and 26 shots on net. The Bolts had a chance to steal one at the Bell Centre Friday night with the Big Cat playing superb in net, but could not capitalize.

The Lightning literally got in his way. We will discuss that in a moment.

The Lightning have been getting in their own way throughout the series, and now they need to right the ship if they want a chance to move past Montreal and make it to the second round.

Secondary Scoring

Hagel is playing this series brilliantly, for the most part. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native is scoring and making the key plays to motivate the rest of the team. He leads in roughing and fighting minutes, blasting his way through Juraj Slavkovsky and taunting the Habs' bench.

Kucherov has a goal and three assists, and Point finally has a goal. Moser found a way to bring a win.

But, where are Jake Guenztel, Darren Raddysh, Gage Goncalves, and others on the score sheet?

The time is now for others, not named Hagel, to step up and get the puck on net. The Montreal game plan to keep Kucherov, Hagel, and Point at bay should allow for players such as Guentzel, Yanni Gourde, Nick Paul, and Anthony Cirelli to step into the spotlight.

Gourde has quietly had a good series, even if it hasn't shown in the numbers. He's out there hitting and causing a bit of chaos, as we saw in Game 2. However, that Gourde line that was so good in the regular season has cooled off in the playoffs, and the time is now for them to find their groove.

Now is the time for the unsung heroes of the Tampa Bay Lightning to step up and cause a bit of chaos of their own. Montreal will have it easy containing three players. Having to contain a half-dozen or more would be a real challenge for the Canadiens.

Eliminate the Mistakes

Stupid Penalties lead to stupid plays. So said Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper after Game 1. The Lightning must play tough hockey, but smart hockey.

Penalties unravelled the team in Games 1 and 3. Spending time in your own penalty box means you can't play the game you want to play. The Lightning offense has been stifled due to being a man down.

At one point in Game 3, the Bolts had to fight off three consecutive penalties when they desperately needed some goals. Handcuffing yourself doesn't help.

The Lightning need to play their own game and not fall into the trap of playing Montreal's game. There have been times when the Lightning have looked lost on the ice, and they need to get back on track, both mentally and physically.

Lane Hutson's game-winner in Game 3 was more the Lightning's getting in their own way than anything else. The entire play that led to Montreal taking control of the series was just a symphony of miscues on defense as they got in the way of Vasilevsiky's line of sight.

Four Lightning players in white were scrambling to cover the play as Montreal glided through the Lightning defensive zone. That discombobulation gave Hutson the shooting lane he needed to sneak the overtime clincher past one of the greatest goalies ever, who was having a phenomenal game that night.

You can't blame Vasilevskiy for that, and the Lightning need to make up for their lapse in defensive judgment Sunday night.

Eliminate the mistakes.

Do What It Takes to Win

There has been something missing with the Lightning the past few weeks that is now catching up with them: passion.

In Game 2, the Lightning played with passion. Led by Hagel, they clawed, scratched, and fought their way to a win. They set the tone and kept it, dominating the final overtime period.

Friday night at the Bell Centre, they came out flat, and the passion was gone.

Montreal is playing with passion. You can see it in their style of play. They want this series. They want each win badly.

The Lightning need to play with even greater emotion and find that desire to win again with every shift.

That energy, tempo, and grit they had in Game 2 need to be a staple of Tampa Bay for the remainder of this series if they have any chance of moving to the second round.

They need to find their desire to win and feed on their hatred of losing. Yes, I'm with Shoresy on this one. They need to find that fire in "hating to lose."

The series is not lost. Not yet, at least.

However, the Tampa Bay Lightning have to want to win Game 4, win this series, and show the NHL they are viable contenders for a Stanley Cup Championship.