Five things the Montreal Canadiens will need to do to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL playoffs:
Power play punch — The Canadiens went 0-for-23 with the man advantage in their last eight games. They were 19th in the NHL with a 17.2 per cent success rate this season, but they have the guns to score more with P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov on the points. The Lightning had only the 23rd best penalty-killing at 80.7 per cent.
Beat the big goalie — They had only four goals in as many games against Tampa Bay's six-foot-seven goalie Ben Bishop this season. While Bishop is injured, his replacement, six-foot-six Anders Lindback, was the NHL's first star of the final week of the season at 3-0-0 with two shutouts.
Stop Stamkos - The Lightning's star may be the NHL's most dangerous scorer. Lines centred by Tomas Plekanec and Lars Eller will likely be assigned to check him, but minimizing the Stamkos factor is a job for all the Canadiens on the ice.
Patience please — The Lightning is a disciplined checking team that waits for opponents to get frustrated and start taking risks, then jumps on the mistakes. Three of their four games this season were 1-1 and went to overtime. Expect the same in the playoffs.
Vanek factor — Picking up veteran scorer Thomas Vanek at the trade deadline gave Montreal a hot top line with David Desharnais and 39-goal scorer Max Pacioretty. Now they need Vanek to be what they were looking for — a force on attack in the post-season.
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL. TV, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2018. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. © Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.