Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks face-off for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final live from the United Center in Chicago.
Tampa Bay looks to take a commanding 3-1 series lead and an opportunity to clinch on home ice back with it to Florida while Chicago hopes to bounce back from a home loss and tie the series up before it shifts again.
The Blackhawks took Game 1 with a 2-1 decision while the Lightning roared back with a 4-3 triumph in Game 2 and a 3-2 victory in Game 3.
Game 4 can be live streamed for free here.
Cedric Paquette scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with his third tally of the playoffs 16:34 into the third period on Monday to give the Lightning a 2-1 series lead in Game 3. Ryan Callahan (3) and Ondrej Palat (8) also found the twine for Tampa Bay in the win.
Brad Richards (3) notched a power play goal and Brandon Saad (7) lit the lamp for Chicago in the loss.
The young Lightning group continues to build confidence as the spring rolls on and with the team just two wins away from its second Stanley Cup in franchise history, it is playing solid defense.
"I think one of the things that's really been our focus is we're not really focused on Chicago," coach Jon Cooper said via NHL.com. "We know they're talented and a world-class team, but we feel like we're in that group as well. It's how we're playing that's going to dictate, we feel, how this series is going to go."
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, look to bounce back after losing two straight contests for the first time this postseason, but their past history in playing well in Games 4-7 of series' will be something to draw from.
"I think maybe it's part knowing what we're up against, part just us raising our game, getting better and better as the series go along," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews told NHL.com. "Obviously we don't draw it up in some situations when we get down in a series. It's not part of the plan. But I think we have confidence when we get in those situations that we can take it one game at a time, focus on the next game, [and] continue to put pressure on the other team."
Chicago will need Toews and Patrick Kane, who were a huge part of its 2010 and 2013 Cup wins, to return to form as they have one point between them off of a Toews assist in the final.
Kane leads Chicago with 10 goals in the playoffs and is tied with Duncan Keith (two tallies, team-best 18 helpers) with a club-best 20 points.
Toews is second on the team with 19 points off of nine goals and 10 assists while rookie Teuvo Teravainen has two goals in the Stanley Cup Final and nine points in these playoffs.
The Lightning has been paced by its Triplets Line as Tyler Johnson has a playoff-best 13 goals and 23 points while his linemate Nikita Kucherov is second on Tampa Bay with 10 goals and 22 points and Palat is 8-8--16.
Alex Killorn has found the back of the net eight times for the Lightning while Steven Stamkos has seven markers.
In between the pipes, Tampa Bay turns to Ben Bishop, who has been dealing with an undisclosed injury, but still managed to stop 36 of the 38 shots he faced in Game 3 after leaving Game 2 with the ailment. Bishop is 13-9 this postseason with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
Chicago counters with Corey Crawford and he yielded three goals on 32 shots in Game 3. Crawford is 10-6 this spring with a 2.59 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
The Lightning seeks a 3-1 series lead while the Blackhawks hope to tie things up 2-2 when the puck drops live tonight from the United Center in Chicago on Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
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