Montreal Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen said prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals that “To be the best, you need to beat the best.” That’s exactly how it felt in the opening game of the Finals in which the Tampa Bay Lightning struck first and never looked back.
The Lightning would win Game 1 by a score of 5-1 giving them an early edge in the series. Here are the five takeaways from Game 1. Four of them are negatives and will need to be fixed quickly in order to rebound and earn a split in Tampa Bay.
1. Slowing Down Nikita Kucherov – Negative
Slowing down the best player in the postseason is no easy task. Nikita Kucherov’s 30 points lead all players in the postseason. In fact, on assists alone, he would still be the points leader. Kucherov did not look injured at all finishing with two goals and an assist in Game 1. Obviously, it has been nearly impossible to stop Kucherov this postseason, but Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was wise in having that line play against the Nick Suzuki line and not the Phillip Danault line.
If the Canadiens want to win this series they will need that Danault line to play against the Kucherov and Brayden Point line. Right now they are the top forward line they have faced all postseason and Montreal needs to always send out their top shutdown line to neutralize them.
2. Keeping Their Composure – Negative
Once the Canadiens gave up that fluke goal at the start of the third period you could tell that wheels were falling off the track. They took three penalties in the period, two of which were of the roughing variety. Their highly impressive 32 straight penalty kills came to an end with just under two minutes left in the game when Steven Stamkos squeaked one past Carey Price.
The Canadiens were just finishing one of their two penalties they took late in the game, and even though that goal meant nothing in that grand scheme of things, they did look a little defeated after that fifth and final goal went in.
We have seen this Canadiens team fight adversity all year long and they have shown an abundance amount of character, composure, and grit to always claw back and give them a chance. Game 1 was by far one of the worst performances during this postseason run but as Luke Richardson went on to say after the game, this team is resilient.
"It was probably our worst game in our last five games," says Luke Richardson. "We're ready to bounce back next game..."
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) June 29, 2021
3. Getting A Goal From The Blueline – Positive
There were very few positives that came out of Game 1, and part of me wanted to just say that it was just one bad game and that it does not define a series. We saw in the previous round that following a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights that they were able to respond and win four of the next five games. However, to be less vague I am going to say that a positive was getting a goal from the blue line.
Ben Chiarot’s first goal of the playoffs was the lone goal in the game, but it was a pleasant surprise to see a goal come from a defenseman. In fact, it’s the second straight game in which a Montreal defenseman has scored a goal, and now brings the blueliners total to three goals in the playoffs. Even though Chiarot’s goal pinballed off two Lightning players, the Habs had some good chances from the blueline from both Jeff Petry and Shea Weber and will need to at least show the option of a shot from the point. If Montreal can continue getting production from their blueline it would help alleviate a lot of pressure on the forwards.
4. Staying Out Of The Penalty Box – Negative
As mentioned above, the Canadiens’ historic successful penalty kill streak came to an end in Game 1. To me, that is not a huge issue. However, the penalties they did take were all avoidable and it allowed the Tampa Bay powerplay to control the puck in the offensive zone. Despite converting on just one of the three powerplays they got, the Lightning showed how lethal it can be.
Stamkos loves to set up on the half-wall, which is where he scored his goal. Kucherov is the quarterback of their top unit, and Victor Hedman’s shot from the blue line is always a threat. Then you add NHL playoff goal leader Brayden Point in the middle of the ice and they have too many weapons for even the best defensive unit in the league.
Moving forward in this series the Habs will need to look at the tape and see how they can improve on the PK, but more importantly how to stay out of the box.
5. Creating Traffic In Front Of Andrei Vasilevskiy – Negative
Andrei Vasilevskiy is arguably the best goaltender in the league. Similar to Carey Price, he has amazing fundamentals and is supremely tough to score on. Vasilveskiy stopped 18 out of 19 shots to get the win, but the Canadiens failed to get a lot of chances on the big Russian goalie.
The Canadiens did not have the scoring opportunities they have earned over the first three series. Sure you can look at it as a one-off and that the Canadiens just did not bring their A-game. However, if Game 1 showed us anything it’s that the Lightning do a good job in front of their goalie and goals like Chiarot’s are a dime a dozen.
They need to get more traffic in front of Vasilevskiy to cause more trouble for him to see pucks. The Habs have beaten some tough goalies in the playoffs to get to this point, in Jack Campbell, Connor Hellebuyck, and Marc-Andre Fleury. Without a question, this is their toughest challenge and they need to fight for every inch to get goals and that starts with getting more shots and creating more traffic.