After three straight victories as a start to the final series against the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay had acquired a real dream position to defend the Stanley Cup.
Victory in match four and you would not only sweep the Canadiens but you would also celebrate the victory on enemy ground.
But that did not happen.
Despite a real shot advantage, Tampa won 34-21 and did not allow Montreal to shoot more than ten shots in total in periods one and three, they did not manage to sew the sack together. Instead, Lightning had to see Josh Anderson find just under four minutes into overtime to force a fifth game.
And the loss was Tampa Bay’s fourth straight overtime loss in this playoffs.
– It’s a little strange, especially that we conceded early goals as well. It’s frustrating but at the same time I do not see it as “oh, we lost in overtime”, but “how did we get to overtime?” We had good chances to decide, but did not succeed. If you let a team keep up long enough, the risk is great that they will find a way to win. Tonight they did it, says Jon Cooper.
Start the scoring, end the scoring.@joshanderson_77 sends the @CanadiensMTL back to Tampa Bay! #StanleyCuppic.twitter.com/27CmOd8O3S
— NHL (@NHL) July 6, 2021
During the match, Tampa also had a bunch of frame hits that could change the outcome of the match.
They also did not get a dividend in powerplay, which was the best of the playoffs, sometime during the five situations with one man more you got.
– We are of course disappointed with that, but we will not lose faith in our powerplay. We had good chances that we should have taken advantage of, but it’s just a matter of recharging the batteries and getting ready for the next match, says Victor Hedman.
The next chance for Tampa Bay to hit a match ball is during the night towards Thursday Swedish time when match five is decided, in Tampa Bay.
Montreal Canadiens – Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 (1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 1-0) after overtime
Destinations, Montreal: Josh Anderson 2, Alexander Romanov
Destinations, Tampa: Barclay Goodrow, Patrick Maroon
Shot: 21–34 (5–12, 9–8, 5–10, 2–4)-
