Jan 24, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper appears on in opposition to the Chicago Blackhawks throughout the first interval on the United Heart. Necessary Credit score: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Pictures The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to shut out a powerful week earlier than the 4 Nations Face-Off match after they journey to meet the Montreal Canadiens on Tremendous Bowl Sunday afternoon within the NHL’s final match earlier than the break.
It will likely be the ultimate of three conferences between the Atlantic Division golf equipment. Montreal received the primary two matchups — 5-2 on Dec. 29 in Tampa and 3-2 on Jan. 21 in Quebec.
A member of Workforce Canada who will play below coach Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay proper winger Brandon Hagel will proudly show the pink and white of his nation. However he in all probability is a minimum of barely disillusioned to see the Lightning’s hiatus.
Hagel scored the primary and final markers in Saturday’s 6-3 win in Detroit, giving him six prior to now 5 matches. He has 26 tallies, third most on the Lightning.
The franchise has seen the 26-year-old Hagel develop after buying him from the Chicago Blackhawks in March of 2022.
“You look at a few years in the past when he acquired traded right here, might you’ve gotten foreseen him taking part in for Workforce Canada in 2025?” Cooper stated after his group broke the Purple Wings’ seven-game successful streak. “I do not know if any of us would’ve seen that, and right here he’s. … The chemistry he is shaped with (Anthony) Cirelli is exclusive. These two work nice collectively.”
Brayden Level reached the 30-goal mark for third straight season and for the fifth time in his profession Saturday.
Making his NHL debut, former Michigan Wolverines ahead Dylan Duke scored the Lightning’s fifth purpose as Tampa Bay moved to 23-1-1 when main after two intervals.
Montreal was making up floor within the wild-card standings after a 3-2 residence win over Tampa Bay on Jan. 21, getting the game-winning marker from Jake Evans, who has carried out that in each victories over the Lightning this season and has 5 complete so far.
Of their penultimate match earlier than the break, Montreal was blanked 4-0 Saturday at residence in opposition to New Jersey because the Devils’ Jack and Luke Hughes notched targets.
Former Habs backstop Jake Allen made 34 saves for his fourth shutout as Montreal fell to 1-6-1 in its previous eight video games.
Trying to make the playoffs for the primary time because the shortened 2020-21 season that ended with them dropping to the Lightning within the Stanley Cup Remaining, the Canadiens entered the postseason fray by incomes factors in eight of 9 video games (7-1-1) that began with a 2-1 win on the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 4.
“I am not going to speak about that proper now,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis replied not too long ago of his membership’s playoff hopes. “I get it. We had an amazing run. It is a arduous league. It’s totally aggressive, particularly within the Japanese Convention proper now. We’re going to struggle. The main focus proper now’s actually to get again to a recipe that works.”
The Canadiens can be represented within the 4 Nations Face-Off by three members of the pink, white and blue — hometown goalie Sam Montembeault for Workforce Canada and wingers Patrik Laine and Joel Armia for Workforce Finland.
Montembeault surrendered 4 tallies on 22 photographs Saturday to lose for the fourth time in his previous 5 begins. He fell to 18-20-3 with three shutouts in 41 video games this season.
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