2021 Stanley Cup Finals : Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning (TBL Win 4-1)

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

 

Well here we are.

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning get a chance to go back to back.... and they will do it against.... ummm, the Golden Knights? 
No, no.... the Colorado Avalanche? Nope...not them either.
Ahhhh, so it has to be Edmonton Oilers or the Toronto Maple Leafs.....right?

No and no.

But they WILL be seeing the underrated, hard playing, Carey Price backed, Suzuki-Caufield led, Petry-Weber-Chiarot-Edmundson defended, Montreal Canadiens.
The 18th ranked team in the regular season, a team that literally finished under .500 on the season.

But also, the team that came back and sent the "mighty" Leafs packing, curb stomped the Winnipeg Jets and sent them hiding somewhere in the Dakotas (I don't believe they were allowed back into Manitoba  ), and took a good Knights team, a FAVORED Knights team by many, to six games and beat them there.

Habs record may not be pretty and on paper, they don't seem to match up very well against, well, many of their opponents, including the Lightning, but is a team with a more than capable goalie, tough grizzled players who HAVE won elsewhere, and now have fresh young legs leading the charge.

I have often joked and said the Habs are the "CinderFella" of this year's playoffs (and in many ways, they still are), but they definitely earned their way to where they are.

The Champion Lightning will have their hands full for sure trying to skate through those Montreal redwood defensemen, then breaking down the Wall of Price.
But since the Lightning didn't exactly cruise to this position of being able to defend their Cup, I think it is safe to say, going through the challenges they did (Florida, Carolina, NY Islanders), they should be up to the challenge here as well.

Would be easy to say this matchup comes down to "Lightning offense vs Canadiens defense" but that sells short the ability of Montreal's forwards and the ability of the Lightning to play a good defensive game...and both teams have shown the ability to do either.

All discussion of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals go here.
Buckle up, it is Finals we may never see again... two Eastern teams, nay, two division rivals (Atlantic) facing off for Lord Stanley's prize!

Edited July 8, 2021 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Voted Champs remaining Champs in 6.

I really wanted to vote 5 games for a TB win, but I kept selling the Canadiens short, and they keep coming through.
Still think the Bolts can do everything they can do just as well, even more so in some areas, but it will take LOTS of heart and effort to remove the Canadiens from this series.

But the Lightning get it done and go back to back as SC Champions.....and Pat Maroon becomes a three-peat champion.....wow.
Pat Freakin Maroon.... 

[Alexandron]

All I would like to say regarding these series - Lightning team should take very very seriously Canadiens team. Any skepticism is not allowable by thinking that Canadiens is a weak team. This team showed a superb character which helped them to beat Toronto, Winnipeg, Vegas. It is a tough team, but Tampa must to confirm their superiority in front of the fans that they are the real Stanley Cup winner, because last year they played in empty arenas because of Covid pandemics.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

17 minutes ago, Alexandron said:

All I would like to say regarding these series - Lightning team should take very very seriously Canadiens team. Any skepticism is not allowable by thinking that Canadiens is a weak team. This team showed a superb character which helped them to beat Toronto, Winnipeg, Vegas. It is a tough team, but Tampa must to confirm their superiority in front of the fans that they are the real Stanley Cup winner, because last year they played in empty arenas because of Covid pandemics.

 

I agree.

The Lightning SHOULD take the Canadiens very seriously.
And as the defending champions, I would think they do.
They didn't get to where they are last season and this season by taking teams lightly.

That all said, and with much respect to what Montreal has accomplished, for ALL the talk about how 'dangerous' Montreal is, and that the Lightning could be in trouble against them, yadda, yadda, people must be aware of the reverse.

Montreal hasn't seen a team quite like the Lightning in these playoffs.
They aren't the top heavy, inexperienced Maple Leafs.... they aren't the short-of-depth, sometimes defensively challenged Winnipeg Jets.... and they aren't the good, but lacking in elite player depth Golden Knights either.

Yes....Lightning must play Montreal very well.....but the Canadiens also have to realize, they are in for the series of their playoff lives here as the Bolt are by FAR the best team they will have seen.
And if Montreal really can pull this off, then hats off to them...they will have beaten the best.

But first, there is a matter of series to be played..... 

[WordsOfWisdom]

6 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

But also, the team that came back and sent the "mighty" Leafs packing, curb stomped the Winnipeg Jets and sent them hiding somewhere in the Dakotas (I don't believe they were allowed back into Manitoba  ), and took a good Knights team, a FAVORED Knights team by many, to six games and beat them there.

 

If Montreal ends up curb stomping the Lightning in 4 games, it'll be the Leafs who can lay claim to being the #2 team in these playoffs, not Tampa.   

 

If Tampa wins, the worst the Leafs can be is 4th best. (Behind Tampa, Montreal, and Tampa's most difficult opponent in these playoffs -- assuming Montreal presents no challenge to them.)

 

There's no prize for being 2nd best, but it would prove that the Leafs are (despite a 1st round loss) on the cusp of a Stanley Cup victory with the group they currently have and only minor tweaking in the off-season. 

 

 

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Just now, WordsOfWisdom said:

 

If Montreal ends up curb stomping the Lightning in 4 games, it'll be the Leafs who can lay claim to being the #2 team in these playoffs, not Tampa.   

 

If Tampa wins, the worst the Leafs can be is 4th best. (Behind Tampa, Montreal, and Tampa's most difficult opponent in these playoffs -- assuming Montreal presents no challenge to them.)

 

There's no prize for being 2nd best, but it would prove that the Leafs are (despite a 1st round loss) on the cusp of a Stanley Cup victory with the group they currently have and only minor tweaking in the off-season. 

 

 

 

 

Hmmm....I am not sure if I would like you to design a home security system for me.

I mean, on the one hand, you are VERY convoluted and any potential threats would have a myriad of hurdles to traverse.....
On the other hand, I still get the feeling someone sneaks in and steals our Oriental rugs...  

[WordsOfWisdom]

1 minute ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Hmmm....I am not sure if I would like you to design a home security system for me.

I mean, on the one hand, you are VERY convoluted and any potential threats would have a myriad of hurdles to traverse.....
On the other hand, I still get the feeling someone sneaks in and steals our Oriental rugs...  

 

lol 

 

My logic is sound.  I assure you.  Trust the WoW.  

 

I know we're conditioned to believe that deeper into the playoffs = more successful, but your opponent means everything. If you run into the eventual champion in round 1, it doesn't matter that you lost in round 1. You lost to the champion... just like everyone else did. When it happens is immaterial. All that matters is how close was the series. How much of a battle was it? Did you push the champs to the limit or fold up quickly? 

 

Montreal and Tampa are great teams in this playoffs, but hypothetically speaking, IF Tampa went down in 4 games or 5 games, could you really put them ahead of Toronto? You couldn't.

 

[FD19372]

2 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

Montreal and Tampa are great teams in this playoffs, but hypothetically speaking, IF Tampa went down in 4 games or 5 games, could you really put them ahead of Toronto? You couldn't.

 

I seriously doubt that Montreal will win this in 5 games, even with a red hot Price, but that is why they play the games. Yes, I can put them ahead of Toronto even if they lost in 4 or 5 games to Montreal, for one reason. Tampa Bay went through the disappointment of winning the President's Trophy, then getting mystifyingly dominated and swept by Columbus, two seasons ago. Then, of course, shortened season or not...they won a Stanley Cup. Toronto as you are too well aware of, I'm sure, hasn't since 1967.

[WordsOfWisdom]

7 minutes ago, FD19372 said:

I seriously doubt that Montreal will win this in 5 games, even with a red hot Price, but that is why they play the games. Yes, I can put them ahead of Toronto even if they lost in 4 or 5 games to Montreal, for one reason. Tampa Bay went through the disappointment of winning the President's Trophy, then getting mystifyingly dominated and swept by Columbus, two seasons ago. Then, of course, shortened season or not...they won a Stanley Cup. Toronto as you are too well aware of, I'm sure, hasn't since 1967.

 

More than likely Montreal will get clobbered in 5 games and that'll be it.  If that happens, you could make the case that the Islanders were the 2nd best team in these playoffs.

 

You can say that Tampa has accomplished more than Toronto in these playoffs. They've gone farther, and they've won more. But if you look at each individual series as being like a PRIZE FIGHT, then the 2nd best team in the playoffs is the toughest opponent that the champion had to vanquish, no matter what round that is.  

 

[ruxpin]

Canadiens win this in 6 games.

[lynxrattle]

The Habs'll get swept. No way this CinderFella's clock is not ticking at 12 o'clock midnight. They might win one, but I doubt even that, because they have already spent everything they have to get into the finals. I expect a very dull series.

[Buffalo Rick]

Mr Diesel, who's pick you see in my avatar, says Tampa in 4

[OccamsRazor]

I have the Lightning in 6...i could see it going 7....

 

...two very deep teams with good goalies.

 

Injuries could change the tide....

 

[Buffalo Rick]

The 93 Montreal team was the worst team to win a Cup in my lifetime.  Only reason they won was ROY.  Period. Tampa is a total mismatch.  They will beat them in 4 or 5.

[Alexandron]

Probably, Vasilevskiy will be a Vezina trophy winner this season out of 3 finalists for that trophy (Grubauer; Fleury and Vasilevskyi), because he was able to bring Tampa team to the Stanley Cup finals and did not not make any evident mistakes as other 2 finalists did during playoffs. The last 7th crucial game against Islanders with a minimal score 1:0 (shutout) showed  that he is definitely merit for this trophy. And he is doing that already 2 seasons in a row.

[Jimtown guy]

I got the Bolts in 6 but at this point who knows. Obviously Price is the key for the Habs. I think the depth of Tampa will just be to much at the end 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Series starts tonight, Boys!

NBC Sports for the US, CBC Sports for most of Canada, and TVA Sports as the French language carrier.

9pm Atlantic / 8pm Eastern / 7pm Central / 6pm Mountain / 5pm Pacific time.

Edited June 28, 2021 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[OccamsRazor]

14 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Series starts tonight, Boys!

 

Hopefully it will be easy to find...always a hunt down here in the South when they don't want to put in on the main channel or NBC Sports channel.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

8 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Hopefully it will be easy to find...always a hunt down here in the South when they don't want to put in on the main channel or NBC Sports channel.

 

Really?
Are you in the Carolinas?

Should be on NBC Sports, now that its the only series left.

 

If you'd rather watch it on a computer or mobile device, maybe this will  help....can't remember where I got it (I always thought someone here), and it DOES have a load of pop ups you have to close out before it actually plays, but the quality is good.
Have used this whenever more than one series of interest was going on at the same time....had one on the TV the other on the phone or laptop.

https://nhlstream.nu/

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

For the Canadiens, big bottom six winger Joel Armia is a game time decision.
He was undergoing Covid protocols, but according to this link, he may play yet.... along with Jake Evans who has been out since Mark Schiefele KO'ed him in the Winnipeg series:

Montreal Canadiens Dealt Brutal News Before Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final - NHL Rumors - NHLTradeRumors.Me

 

Armia could be a factor for Montreal should the game come down to who has the better grinders.
Tampa Bay has Goodrow, Coleman, and Maroon so Montreal will need their large bodied grinders available and ready to match and Armia is a big part of that.

[OccamsRazor]

21 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Are you in the Carolinas?

 

Yep South Carolina....so you never know.

[SaucyJack]

Montreal has shown highly skilled offensive stick handling and quick effective shotmaking.  Such a difference from my Capitals.  They look to be a Team Of Destiny as was the ‘93 squad that won an unheard-of number of OT games and killed LA fans hopes of a Gretzky South Cup victory.  (And killed the mullet style of one Barry Melrose.)

 

These Quebec cicadas burrow out of the earth with ferociousness every once in a blue moon.    But it’s little buggers winning no matter what, cicadas or lightning bugs (fireflies) but I’m on board The Train now…

 

…Montrecicada Canadiennae overcome Photuris Tampabayana in 6.  (The losers get impaled on little pins for display at some Natural History museum I guess.)

[Jimtown guy]

https://fb.watch/6pVSIPzU_k/

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

15 minutes ago, Jimtown guy said:

https://fb.watch/6pVSIPzU_k/

 

Very cool!

Ready for the action!

[Alexandron]

On 6/27/2021 at 12:02 AM, lynxrattle said:

The Habs'll get swept. No way this CinderFella's clock is not ticking at 12 o'clock midnight. They might win one, but I doubt even that, because they have already spent everything they have to get into the finals. I expect a very dull series.

You expected same things for 3 rounds series already, but they were marching round after round nicely and proudly to the finals. 

And now it is a real time to found out who are they? No questions - it is a serious team to play against.