Stanley Cup Finals Canadiens Still Out To Prove They Belong

The Canadiens of Montreal are now struggling and do not have a decent chance of recovering. Defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning won Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens, 6-3, on Friday. With this victory, the Lightning will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row.

Stanley Cup Finals Canadiens Still Out To Prove They Belong

After dominating the Bolts in Game 2, the Habs went home for Game 3, and expectations were high that they could make this series interesting. However, they played a mistake-filled game and are again in danger of having their season end prematurely.

So far in the Stanley Cup Final, Montreal has had almost nothing go their way, and it’s clear that they don’t belong on the same ice as the dominant Lightning.

The Lightning made a statement in the series opener with a 5-1 victory against the Habs at Amalie Arena, with Nikita Kucherov adding to his extraordinary postseason career with a hat trick (2 G, 1 A).

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When Compared To The Tampa Bay Lightning, The Montreal Canadiens are a Far Inferior Team.

The Lightning won Game 2 despite playing poorly and sluggishly with the puck, 3-1, and now hold a commanding 2-0 series lead thanks in large part to Andrei Vasilevskiy’s superb 42 save effort.

The Lightning have demonstrated over and over again in the last two postseasons that they can win even when they aren’t playing at their best, which is the defining characteristic of any great team in any sport.

Even though Montreal outshot Tampa Bay for the second straight game in Game 3, the Lightning were patient and pounced on their chance to win when it presented itself.

By doing so, they not only demonstrated why they are on the verge of a repeat championship run, but also showed why clubs like the Montreal Canadiens have no chance against them in the Stanley Cup Final.

Before we go any further, let’s dispel the myth that the Habs don’t deserve to be in the Finals. After coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the highly talented Toronto Maple Leafs in the First Round, then sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in the Second Round, and finally beating the highly talented Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the Semifinals, the Habs have more than earned their spot in the Finals.

The 2021 Stanley Cup Final will be played in Montreal.

They aren’t quite as good as the Lightning, who might become the next great dynasty in the NHL, especially considering that the present core still has a few years left in which to win championships.

While the Lightning’s ability to circumvent the salary cap this season has drawn criticism, the same thing was done by the Chicago Blackhawks with Patrick Kane a few years ago, and the NHL hasn’t changed its stance since, so the Bolts aren’t legally breaking any laws.

However, we digress; it has been clear throughout the playoffs and in this early stage of the Stanley Cup Final that Tampa Bay is a truly exceptional club, with depth and talent throughout the whole roster.

They are getting strong performance from all around the lineup, their A-listers are carrying the load, their netminding is top-notch, and they are nearly impossible to beat in the playoffs, which is not always true of the Lightning.

The Canadiens, knowing full well how formidable their opponents would be, have struggled mightily through the first three games of this series, unable to even come close to playing to their potential.

Even though the Habs dominated Game 2, they committed two mistakes that the Lightning capitalised on to take a 2-0 series lead, and Game 3 was a sloppy, ugly loss for the Habs.

Early goals by Montreal defensemen Jan Rutta and Victor Hedman put the Canadiens in a hole from which they would never recover; later, Kucherov and Tyler Johnson capitalised on costly blunders and missed opportunities to put the game out of reach.

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Nick Suzuki And Corey Perry Gave the Canadiens Reason For Optimism, But a Costly Turnover in Their Own Zone Allowed Blake Coleman to Score an Empty-Netter And Seal The Victory.

As good as the Canadiens have been this postseason and as promising as their future is, it is clear that they are not yet good enough to go toe-to-toe with the Lightning. You can’t make those kinds of boneheaded mistakes in the Playoffs and expect to win, especially not against a juggernaut like Tampa Bay.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday, and whether or not the Montreal Canadiens win it will send the series back to Tampa; either way, it’s clear that they aren’t on the same level as their opponent heading into the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.