The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from being the first team in 23 years to sweep the Stanley Cup Final, but good luck trying to catch them looking that far ahead.
“We’ve put ourselves in good position, obviously, but the fourth one is the hardest to get,” defenseman Victor Hedman said on Friday, after the Lightning trounced the Canadiens 6-3 in Game 3 in Montreal. “We have to do whatever it takes to win the next game and think about it after. We have more work to do and we are not satisfied.”
The Lightning, who have yet to trail against Montreal, now hold a 3-0 series lead — which typically portends well. In the NHL’s 100-plus year history, only four teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series, while 195 have gone on to win. The only team to come back from 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final was the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs over the Detroit Red Wings.
“Anytime you get this close, you really feel it,” veteran forward Tyler Johnson said.
