The Montreal Canadiens find themselves in a familiar position to last season as the perceived underdog. This time feels significantly different than last year, due in part to the very experience of the playoffs they got against the Washington Capitals. Once again, they are facing another veteran team in the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it is no longer about just gaining experience, but taking that next step and advancing.Â
The path to an upset won't be easy, especially against a Tampa Bay squad that knows exactly what it takes to win in the postseason. This series will likely be won or lost on the sticks of a few key players, and these are four players in particular who could be under the most pressure.
Cole Caufield
It was a magical season for Cole Caufield as he broke 50 goals for the first time in his career and was the first Canadiens player to do it in over 30 seasons. He showed he is one of the best goal-scorers in the entire NHL and the Canadiens are going to need that kind of performance in this series against the Lightning.
Caufield has been more productive this season against the Lightning than in past seasons, as he has three goals and three assists in 12 career games. However, this season, he had two goals and two assists in four games against Tampa Bay, with three of those points occurring in their recent two meetings.
One of the areas the Canadiens struggled in the playoffs last season was secondary scoring, and they could face that issue again this season. Although it won't matter much if Caufield struggles to find the back of the net in this series.
Lane Hutson
The Montreal Canadiens already know they are going to be without Noah Dobson for the start of this series. That is a big loss for this defense, and Lane Hutson acknowledged that after practice on Thursday when asked how his role might change.
"I'm ready for whatever they need me for, just like anyone in here, but it's going to be tough. He's a big part of our team, and I think everyone just needs to chip in a bit more and help each other out," Hutson said.
While it will be a team effort to try to replace what Dobson brought to the defense, a majority of that responsibility is going to fall on Hutson. It will be interesting to see how much Martin St. Louis shortens the rotation on the blue line, and if that happens, it means more ice time for Hutson.
As he showed this season with his 78 points and a +/- of +36, Hutson is certainly talented enough to handle the increased role. The Canadiens are going to need it if they hope to advance and are still playing in time for Dobson to return.
Juraj Slafkovsky
While Nick Suzuki is a key part of this team, and he will need to play well, Juraj Slafkovsky is a player who can be a difference maker for this team with what he brings to the top line. The former first-overall pick was excellent in the Olympics and continued that momentum in the second half of the season with 27 points in the final 23 regular-season games.
He is a big-body forward who should excel in the playoffs because he can control the puck and shouldn't be pushed around. One area in particular that he can really help this team is on the power play, which struggled down the stretch and is now facing one of the best penalty kill units in the NHL.
The last time the Canadiens played the Lightning, Slafkovsky was the hero with his goal in the final minute of the third period, shortly after Tampa Bay tied it. These playoffs are a great opportunity for him to truly break out and put the rest of the NHL on notice.
Jakub Dobes
The final player under the most pressure entering this series is goalie Jakub Dobes. Earlier in the season, it was clear that the goaltending was holding this team back, but that all changed once they made a switch at goaltending coach.
After that switch, Dobes emerged as the starter and was playing as well as anyone in the league at the position. The concern, though, is that he didn't look like the same goalie over his last two starts, where he allowed a combined nine goals.
He has already proven he can be a game-changer for the Canadiens, and did so recently against this very Lightning team. The Canadiens only held a 1-0 lead for most of the game and didn't score until they had pulled the goalie to create a 6-on-5 advantage.
Goalie is probably the one position that can steal wins for their teams with incredible individual performances, and the Canadiens might need a few of those to get past the Lightning in this series.
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