Ducharme addresses roster questions for Game 5 in Tampa
The Montreal Canadiens have extended their Stanley Cup Final series against the defending champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, after a thrilling 3-2 OT victory on Monday, forcing a Game 5 back in Tampa on Wednesday, and according to head coach Dom Ducharme, we're likely to see the same lineup for Game 5 as we did for Game 4.
Ducharme made several roster moves ahead of Game 4 that seemed to pay off, inserting Jake Evans, Brett Kulak and Alexander Romanov into the lineup and removing Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill, appearing to like what he saw from his lineup on Monday.
"There's a good chance we're going to be going back with the same lineup... anything can happen also... but so far we liked the guys that came into the lineup, what they brought and we should see them tomorrow," Ducharme said on Tuesday.
Can't fault the Habs' bench boss for not wanting to alter what was ultimately a winning formula, but the Canadiens were outplayed for much of the contest, despite what the end result was. If they're going to head to Florida and attempt to force a Game 6, they're going to have to do a much better job of stifling the offensive opportunities that they gave to the Bolts, who hit 3 posts in a razor close Game 4.
