Stanley Cup Finals Game Four Preview For 9/25/2020

Sep 25, 2020 - 5:22 PM ET

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Tampa looks to take a 3-1 lead after a strong showing in Game Two

The Lightning took a 2-1 series lead in dominating fashion on Wednesday. After falling in Game One, Tampa stormed back in its last two outings, outscoring the Stars 8-4 on its way to two consecutive wins. The Bolts had their best game of the series so far, beating up on Dallas for a 5-2 victory two nights ago. Now, the Lightning have a chance to move to within one game of winning Lord Stanley’s Cup.

All the best players found the back of the net for Tampa in Game Three. Nikita Kucherov got the scoring started, recording an unassisted goal after five and a half minutes of gameplay. Following that, a familiar face made his playoff debut, leaving a lasting impact on the series. Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the postseason after missing the last 21 games in just three minutes of ice-time. That goal made Stamkos the first player since 1940 to score a goal while making his postseason debut in the Stanley Cup Final. At this time, Stamkos’ status is uncertain for the remainder fo the series, but he has been ruled out for tonight’s matchup. Dallas was able to notch a short-handed goal in the first period, but Tampa would go on to score three unanswered goals in the second. From there, it was pretty much game over. The Stars did score once again in the third period, but it was too little too late for Dallas. Tampa would go on and win the game by a final score of 5-2. With the way this series is headed, I could see tonight’s end results being similar.

The way this series is progressing plays perfectly into Tampa’s game-plan for the 2020 postseason. In almost every playoff matchup the Lightning have had, they have faced some form of adversity. It began in the first round, when the Bolts fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game Two, allowing the series to be tied up at one game apiece. In the past, it is possible that the Lightning would have fallen apart mentally, but that was not the case this year. Instead, Tampa responded by winning three straight games to bounce the BJs out of the playoffs. In the second round, things got even dicier for the Lightning after they lost the first game of the series to the Bruins. How did they respond to losing to the NHL’s best regular-season team? Well, they won four-straight games to knock the Bruins out of the playoffs (which means we are all safe from another potential Championship parade in Boston). In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Isles were able to steal two of the first five games of the series, but the Lightning had already created a near insurmountable lead, going on to win the matchup in six games. Now, Tampa Bay finds itself with a 2-1 series lead after dropping the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals. However, they were able to turn things around in their last two outings, bringing a 2-1 advantage into tonight’s game. At the moment, the Lightning have the Stars right where they want them.

With all this in mind, I am not counting out Dallas just yet. The Stars have been one of the best offensive teams in the postseason. They average 2.92 goals scored per game, which is the seventh-highest mark of all teams that qualified for the postseason. That doesn’t seem like much, but that is pretty good considering the Lightning only average 3.09 goals per game. Furthermore, Dallas is one of the league’s better defensive squads, recording a save percentage of 0.908%. Dallas certainly has the firepower to go toe-to-toe with Tampa, I just don’t know if it will be too little too late. I see this series going six games, but I still am picking the Lightning to win the whole thing.

Unfortunately, the Stars didn’t take my advice about playing a more clean game. Tampa out-shot Dallas 32-24 in the last outing. Also, the Stars had 21 GIVEAWAYS in Game Three. It’s like Dallas was trying to LITERALLY give the game away. On top of that, the Stars were called for four minor penalties, leading to four power-plays and one goal for the Lightning. The Stars are in deep trouble. I know they have the talent to win this series, but I fear they are in too deep of a hole to climb out of. Let’s face facts, Tampa is clicking right now. I don’t see their train slowing down any time soon. I am picking the Bolts to win tonight’s game, but I do think this one goes into Overtime. It wouldn’t be a 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning playoff series without an overtime game.

Lightning 5 – Stars 4