In Montreal, the Canadiens’ back s are to the proverbial cliff, and the shale facing of the cliff is crumbling into the waters below. 
The Tampa Bay Lightning hold a 3-0 series lead over Montreal and the word around the Lightning locker room is Tampa has no intention of becoming complacent or taking the Habs for granted.
There’s something you really don’t want to hear if you are Montreal.
The near clinical dissection of the Canadiens at the hands of the Lighting through three games has been masterful, how the Canadiens respond early in Game 4 may provide some hope.
The Lightning can sweep the Habs Monday night, on the road.
“It’s about winning,” Tampa head coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s not about where you win.”
To go home to Tampa for an extended series would mean dealing with an early tropical storm taking aim at Florida.
“Obviously a couple wrinkles with the situation that we’re in here in Canada and the storm back home,” Tampa’s Steven Stamkos said. “We want to make sure everyone’s safe. But at the same time, this group is focused on the game.”
There’s a cold, calculating edge to the Tampa organization.
“There’s a mindset that has developed with our players,” Cooper said. “We had a chance to knock out the Islanders last year and didn’t do it. We had a chance to knock Dallas last year and didn’t do it. It’s a learning process to go through that.
“By no means does that guarantee any results of what’s going to happen in tomorrow’s game, but I know our mindset’s different going into these games.”
It should not matter where the wins occur, just that they are recorded. From a Tampa Bay perspective, win and get home safely.
“We know the difficulty of the Montreal Canadiens and what they bring to the table,” Stamkos said. “For us, it’s another game. You worry about all that stuff after you’ve gone out there and put your best effort on the ice. If we can do that next game, whatever happens, happens.
“We’re just focusing. We’re not reading into all that stuff. This group’s very mature in terms of realizing the task at hand.”
The Canadiens can look at their first round win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, coming back from down 1-3, but that was the Leafs.
“We said the same thing in the series against Toronto,” Montreal head coach Dominique Ducharme said Saturday. “First of all, you can’t look too far ahead. You look at the mountain and it looks pretty high, but there are steps you have to take. The first step for us is we have a game to win at home.”
Tampa Bay and Montreal each have to win one more game.
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