The Tampa Bay Lightning will attempt to force the Dallas Stars to the brink of 2019-20 extinction tonight, as they take to the ice in a pivotal Game Four matchup in the Stanley Cup Final. Looking to build on really solid performance in the third game, the Bolts are going to be without Steven Stamkos tonight when they seek that coveted 3-1 series lead.

Tampa Bay’s game plan tonight is relatively simple: Get the Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat trio on the ice, and let them do their thing. While Tampa’s depth scoring has been an issue throughout these playoffs, the Point line has done more than enough to pick up the slack. Their performance in Game Three was sublime, and very much emblematic of the run they’ve been on this whole postseason. The Athletic ran a great feature summarizing how historically impressive that trio has been in these playoffs:

Tampa Bay's top line put on a clinic last night, but the show's been going on all playoffs.
Analyzing how the trio of Point, Kucherov and Palat are powering the Lightning with a historically dominant run.https://t.co/tbetbDJ6ta pic.twitter.com/4uGs8LbDMG

— dom luszczyszyn (@domluszczyszyn) September 24, 2020

So, even without Steven Stamkos, it’s clear that the Bolts have enough top-line firepower to earn themselves a win.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for the Lightning heading into this contest, though, will be performing at a sufficiently elite level after such an emotional high in Game Three. Steven Stamkos returning and scoring in limited minutes *felt* like the emotional pinnacle in these playoffs, even though there’s still lots of work to be done. Jon Cooper’s task is to make sure that his team is ready to play.

And, quite simply, they’ll need to be ready to play. Last game seems to have lulled some corners of the fan base into a false sense of security, despite ample evidence from the first and second games telling us that this Dallas team does have the ability to run with the Lightning. Drawing conclusions from a convincing Game Three victory is a recipe for disaster.

I’ll be driving down to Banff for a quick weekend golf getaway during the game tonight, but look forward to listening on the radio, reviewing the post-game stats, and watching highlights upon my arrival. Here’s hoping the result is a good one!

As always, thanks for reading.

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