Bruins vs Red Wings

MONTREAL -- P.K. Subban does a lot of things extremely well, but one of his most underrated skills is manipulating the spotlight.

Whenever attention appears to be turning toward the difficulties of his team, the Montreal Canadiens defenseman will say or do something that will force the spotlight to be turned squarely upon him. Once he does that, he usually rises to the occasion. Saturday at Bell Centre was the latest example.

Subban knew exactly what he was doing when he suggested following Montreal's 6-2 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series at Amalie Arena on Thursday that Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop had benefited from some luck.

The Canadiens had hit a few goal posts in the series, sure, but saying a goalie is relying on luck is so obvious it's near insulting. Every goalie relies on luck to some extent; the good ones are simply better at playing the odds.

Much like Subban is good at controlling the message.

MONTREAL -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are using seven defensemen in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Nikita Nesterov is the seventh defenseman; the Lightning scratched center Vladislav Namestnikov. It is Nesterov's first game of the series.

Forward Jonathan Drouin, who played Games 3 and 4 in Tampa Bay, was scratched in favor of veteran Brenden Morrow.

TAMPA – The Tampa Bay Lightning had the best home record in the NHL during the regular season, but they were reminded again Thursday that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are different.

The Lightning, who were 32-8-1 at Amalie Arena this season, are 3-5 at home during the past two postseasons and have displayed some lackluster efforts in front of their fans in playoff games.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop was pulled after allowing three goals to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Bishop was replaced by Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.

Facing elimination in the best-of-7 series, Montreal took a 3-0 lead 5:08 into the second period and won 6-2.

TAMPA -- Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette returned to the lineup for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Paquette missed Game 3 on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury.

Jonathan Drouin, who replaced Paquette in Game 3, remained in the lineup. Forward Brenden Morrow was a healthy scratch.

For additional insight into the Eastern Conference Second Round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Chris Dennis to break down the action. Dennis will be checking in throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Dennis spent 10 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, including the past two as an assistant coach under Randy Carlyle and Peter Horachek. Prior to that he was the Maple Leafs' video coach for eight seasons.

The Montreal Canadiens outshot the Tampa Bay Lightning 31-19 in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series on Wednesday, and had 69 shot attempts to the Lightning's 41.

TAMPA – The Montreal Canadiens are determined not to let their season end this quickly.

The Canadiens controlled most of the play in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series on Wednesday, but they were stunned when Tyler Johnson's goal with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory and a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

The Canadiens are facing the prospect of being swept as they prepare Game 4 at Amalie Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports). The quick turnaround means they can't dwell on the deflating loss.

TAMPA -- The one constant with the Montreal Canadiens this season has been the presence of change.

In spite of being the healthiest team in the NHL, Canadiens coach Michel Therrien has been shuffling his forward lines all season in an effort to find a combination that can produce offense on a consistent basis.

There has not been a single time this season that Therrien needed offense more than he does now.

So the line-shuffling machine will be put to use once more when the Canadiens attempt to get their first win of their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; USA, CBC, TVA Sports).

"We're always looking for results," Therrien said after practice Tuesday. "If the result offensively isn't there, you're always searching for a solution. [Wednesday] won't be any different. We've got to find a solution to be more successful offensively."

TAMPA -- When Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman acquired defenseman Braydon Coburn from the Philadelphia Flyers in the early morning hours of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 2, he wasn’t just adding a solid veteran.

He was giving Lightning coach Jon Cooper a prime top pairing on defense.

The addition of Coburn allowed Cooper to play Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman together on his top pair, but the combination lasted four games together before Coburn broke his foot, costing him six weeks of action.

Without Coburn to play with Jason Garrison on the second pair, Cooper preferred to split Hedman from Stralman. But Cooper said he knew what the Lightning had in Coburn right away.

"He did impress in those first four games, and for me he’s done nothing but make our general manager look good in that trade," Cooper said. "He’s kind of rounded out our top four, he’s given us another big-body defender, somebody that sticks up for his teammates."