The Stanley Cup will be in the building once again when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 tonight.

This time around, it’s in the building the Tampa mayor wants it to be in when the Lightning clinch.

If Tampa Bay’s recent dominance on home ice is any indication, it will be tough for the Habs to spoil the celebration.

The Lightning have won five straight playoff games on home ice dating back to Game 2 of their Stanley Cup semi-final against the New York Islanders.

If they extend that streak tonight versus Montreal, Tampa Bay will become the first team to win the Stanley Cup on home ice since the Chicago Blackhawks did it in 2015.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday July 7, 2021.

Habs, Lightning Set For Game 5 Tonight

For the second year in a row, the Lightning lost in overtime when they had their first chance to clinch the Stanley Cup.

A year ago, Tampa Bay bounced back from an OT loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 5 to win that series in six.

Will a similar scenario play out this time around?

The Lightning outscored Montreal a combined 8-2 in their first two wins of the series at Amalie Arena.

Tampa Bay will once again have the second change tonight, which means head coach Jon Cooper will be able to find the matchups he wants and attempt to take advantage of them.

In addition to their dominance on home ice, the Lightning have also been perfect this postseason when coming off a loss.

Tampa Bay is 6-0 following a loss in these playoffs.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who remains the favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at -125, has been particularly locked in.

Vasilevskiy posted shutouts in Games 5 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Final following losses to the Islanders.

If he slams the door one more time tonight against the Canadiens, there’s a good chance he will be awarded playoff MVP.

As of this morning, Nikita Kucherov remains a close second choice to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at -105.

Brayden Point is a distant third at +1000.

If there’s one potential weakness that Montreal could take advantage of versus Tampa Bay, it’s the way they’ve struggled when conceding the first goal.

The Lightning are 0-5 this postseason when they allow the first goal.

Tampa Bay rallied from down a goal twice in Game 4 but couldn’t finish the job in a 3-2 overtime loss.

As of this morning, the Lightning are still -4000 to win the Stanley Cup – a 97.6 per cent implied win probability.     

At -225 to win tonight, Tampa Bay is a bigger favourite for Game 5 than any other game so far in the series.

Montreal is +195 to win tonight and +2500 to win the Stanley Cup.

Paul Delivers As Suns Take NBA Finals Opener

Chris Paul waited a long time to step on to the court for an NBA Finals game.

He didn’t disappoint in his Finals debut.

Paul delivered a game-high 32 points with nine assists and four rebounds as the Phoenix Suns beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-105 in Game 1.

The Suns covered easily as 4.5-point favourites.

Phoenix was a six-point favourite early Tuesday morning, but that number came down following confirmation that Giannis Antetokounmpo would return to the lineup for Milwaukee.

The Greek Freak finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds and two assists in his NBA Finals debut.

It obviously wasn’t enough, as the Bucks fell to 0-4 against the spread in Game 1s this postseason.

On the flip side, the Suns covered to improve to 4-0 ATS in Game 1s.

Teams that win Game 1 of the Finals have gone on to win the series 72 per cent of the time.

As of this morning, Phoenix is -360 to win the series – the comeback on Milwaukee is +290.

Italy Advances To EURO 2020 Final

Italy survived extra time and penalty kicks to advance to the EURO 2020 Final with a win over Spain on Tuesday.

The Azzurri, which were -140 to advance, extended their undefeated streak to 33 games.

As the first team to reach the final, Italy is now the betting favourite to win the tournament for the first time at -120.

However, that will likely change if England beats Denmark in the other semi this afternoon.

England, which is currently the second choice at +140 to win the tournament, will likely get the nod from oddsmakers as the betting favourite over Italy if they advance to the Final on home soil.

Denmark remains a +900 long shot to win the tournament.

Shapo, Felix In Wimbledon Quarters

For the first time ever, two Canadian men will compete in quarterfinal action at the same Grand Slam event this morning on TSN.

Denis Shapovalov is in action against Karen Khachanov.

Shapovalov, who is currently the fourth choice to win the tournament at +1600, entered the match as a -350 favourite to advance.

Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime will be an underdog once again when he battles Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals.

Auger-Aliassime, who upset Alexander Zverev as a +250 underdog, is +260 to reach the semis at Wimbledon with a win over Berrettini.

He’s currently +2000 to win the tournament.

You can catch exclusive live coverage of those matches across the TSN network this morning.

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