標籤: Survive

The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have yet to play a playoff game decided by two goals.

Most of the contest went into overtime, which is a testament to how evenly matched the Habs and Bolts have been throughout the series.

While the teams prepare for their decisive Game 7 on Sunday, all the remaining playoff series have already been decided. The Eastern Conference semifinals between the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers begins on Saturday night.

But when we consider that they didn’t get any 5v5 contributions from their first line, the mere fact that the Canadiens managed to extend the series to seven games is quite an accomplishment.

And this is not an exaggeration.

Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkowski have not managed to score a single goal at 5v5, a huge blow for a team that typically relies on its top trio to drive the offensive attack.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

Friday night was probably the best night of the first row from a statistical standpoint. Head coach Martin Saint-Louis made some lineup modifications, meaning Slafkovsky was not always used alongside Suzuki and Caufield, but in his 10 minutes of ice time at 5v5, he controlled 58% of shots and 50% of high-quality scoring opportunities.

However, at this point in the chain, the process needs to make way for results.

If the Canadiens lose on Sunday, and the first line fails to make an impact at 5v5, very few people will care that they have improved their underlying numbers throughout the series. For many fans and analysts this will be considered a failure of the season, even though you can argue that the Canadiens are well ahead of their long-term rebuilding plans.

Fair or not, fans want to see continued improvement, and if the team fails to make much noise in the playoffs, they’ll be very quick to forget Suzuki’s 100-point season, or Caufield’s 50-goal campaign.

Such is life for the highest-paid players in the lineup.

The good news for Canadians is that they perform at their best with their backs against the wall.

A certain level of adversity has produced great results for the league’s youngest team. Although this is not an ideal approach, the consequences are hard to overestimate.

If the players who typically provide secondary and tertiary scoring respond in adversity, the Canadiens will be in good position.

If their top line responds strongly, Montreal will be very difficult to beat.

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

Things are looking pretty bad for the New York Knicks right now. They currently trail the series against the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 and will play again at State Farm Arena for Game 4 on Saturday.

They really need to win this game if they want to keep the series going. If they lose another game then it will be very difficult for them to make a comeback in the series.

The series has unfolded completely differently than anyone in New York had expected. The Knicks won Game 1 but lost Games 2 and 3 by a combined two points, with both losses decided by the final possession.

In Game 3, the Hawks again answered in the fourth quarter, with CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga scoring points. New York had 18 turnovers and made only 28.6% of their shots from three-point range.

A 3-1 series loss against the Hawks would be a disaster for a team built to go deep. Mike Brown knows this. This is what every Knicks fan is watching. Here are three bold predictions for Game 4.

Prediction 1: Jalen Brunson scores over 25 and plays like himself again

Brunson has scored 26, 29 and 28 points in back-to-back games in this series, so the points have clearly been up. But unfortunately, he has also been responsible for every misstep of late. In Game 3, not only did he miss a three-pointer in the air with 16 seconds remaining, but he turned the ball over on the last play as the Knicks were unable to even attempt a shot.

This is a game where Brunson needs to look like himself from start to finish, not just in detail. Playoff Brunson is a different player. Last year, before the Knicks took on the Pacers, he was one of the best closers in the league, and there’s no reason why that player couldn’t show up in Game 4.

Brunson drops at least 25 and makes the right play when the game is on the line.

Prediction 2: Mikal Bridges struggles again and sees fewer minutes

Bridges had no points in Game 3, going 0-for-3 with one rebound and two assists in 21 minutes. In four-quarter periods in Games 2 and 3, they had zero field goals and six total turnovers.

Mike Brown took him out in the third quarter and kept him on the bench for most of the second half.

Miles McBride got 31 minutes while Bridges only got 21 minutes, and the Knicks were clearly more effective with that smaller lineup. Since Bridges is having trouble in this matchup, it’s hard to imagine Brown falling back on him in heavy moments when McBride is giving him more on the floor.

Prediction: Bridges plays less than 25 minutes again, and McBride handles the bulk of those extra possessions.

Prediction 3: Karl-Anthony Towns posts a double-double and stays on the floor

Towns had 21 points and 17 rebounds in Game 3, and he was certainly the best big man on the floor all night. The issue is that the Knicks are finding it difficult to utilize him in the most important moments; In fact, the final play went to Brunson.

As a small team, the Hawks and Towns demonstrated very clearly what this mismatch will look like when it comes to offense.

The Browns should keep Towns on the court for a full 40 minutes instead of just longer, because with the production from both Towns and Brunson, New York is a completely different team.

If these three things happen, the Knicks may very well win.

Prediction: Towns gets at least 22 points and 11 rebounds, and New York wins 110-102 to tie the series 2-2.

Jayesh Pagar is currently pursuing Sports Journalism from London School of Journalism and has four years of experience… More about Jayesh Pagar