Here are my three takeaways from Montreal’s 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
1 - The Captain has his best game
A lot of the conversation at the start of the series centered around how Montreal’s top players were being neutralized.
Nick Suzuki showed up in Game 4 and was the driving force all night. His work on the power play was pure genius, demonstrating why he was one of the most productive power-play players in the league this season.
He held onto the puck for what felt like an eternity, when most players would have moved it to the goal line, the bumper, or the point.
Instead, he showed that patience is indeed a virtue, perfectly timing a pass to Cole Caufield, who slid from the goal line to the front of the net untouched.
Beyond setting up the goal, Suzuki was physical, forced a penalty on the forecheck, and contributed in every situation.
2 - Slafkovsky gets hammered
Juraj Slafkovsky got lit up at center ice, with Max Crozier coming in like a heat-seeking missile and catching the unsuspecting Montreal forward with his head down.
The hit was clean and the kind of play that can instantly change momentum in a game.
At that point, Montreal seemed to have complete control, holding its first multi-goal lead of the series with the Bell Centre rocking.
But the hit gave Tampa Bay life, and things quickly turned in their favour.
The good news for Montreal: despite heading to the dressing room, Slafkovský returned for the third period.
It should serve as a reminder to the young budding star that even though he’s one of the biggest players on the ice, he’s still a target, and opponents will take a run if given the chance.
3 - Hagel is killing the Canadiens
Brandon Hagel has been a Montreal killer in this series, and there are no signs of that slowing down.
He has been a thorn in their side in every possible way, most notably with his goal scoring.
Hagel scored two of the Tampa Bay goals tonight, including the game-winner.
If the Conn Smythe Trophy were handed out today, he’d be the unanimous choice.
The ever-temperamental Nikita Kucherov made a great play to get the puck to the net, where it was deflected in by Hagel for the final dagger, as Jon Cooper mixed and matched his lines all night.
The Lightning are hard to put away, and the margin for error in this series has been minuscule. We now have a best-of-three.
Mitch Gallo is co-host of ‘Campbell vs. Gallo,’ as well as Canadiens pre- and post-game coverage on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal. You can follow him on ‘X’ at @MitchyGallo.
