Stanley Cup Final, Game 4: Lines, gamethread and how to watch

In any other year, this would be a can’t-miss Stanley Cup Final, especially after Wednesday’s wild 5-2 tilt. The pressure is on, as a win tonight send Tampa Bay into tomorrow’s back-to-back with a 3-1 series lead. And with Stamkos watching from the press box tonight, that kinda of lead could end with something magical tomorrow — at least if the efficiency of his minutes in Game 3 are any indication.

Here’s what to know and how to watch for Game 4:

In Their Words

From SB Nation’s Raw Charge:

Obviously the legendary return of Steven Stamkos overshadowed a lot of the Bolts’ success last game, but it was obvious that he didn’t return to play at 100%. Whether or not he dresses tonight remains to be seen, but it might be within the Lightning’s best interests to rest him in this game and, if he’s able to, play him tomorrow.

If Stamkos can’t play tonight, we’d likely see Carter Verhaeghe draw back in — Jon Cooper explained that it was more difficult to go 11-7 against a faster team like the Stars, though they managed to successfully do it last game after Stamkos was stapled to the bench.

From SB Nation’s Defending Big D:

In the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning top line is just as lethal, but the Stars find themselves without the core of their top checking line. Turns out, one of the keys to the Dallas system is an ability to put a damper on the opposing top scoring line. Absent that, it’s a track meet, which may work against a Colorado team with defensive holes, but against a Lightning team with three solid defensive pairs, it’s a losing proposition.

Andrew Cogliano just isn’t enough to build a checking line around. Jason Dickinson can fill in as Radek Faksa in a pinch, but only if you have a reliable Blake Comeau on the right wing.

Lines

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (via NHL.com)

Ondrej Palat — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Tyler Johnson
Barclay Goodrow — Yanni Gourde — Blake Coleman
Pat Maroon — Cedric Paquette — Carter Verhaeghe

Victor Hedman — Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh — Kevin Shattenkirk
Mikhail Sergachev — Erik Cernak

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney

Expected Scratches: Mathieu Joseph, Mitchell Stephens, Alexander Volkov, Braydon Coburn, Scott Wedgewood, Luke Schenn, Zach Bogosian

Unfit to Play: Steven Stamkos

DALLAS STARS (via NHL.com)

Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark — Joe Pavelski — Denis Gurianov
Joel Kiviranta — Roope Hintz — Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano — Jason Dickinson — Nick Caamano

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak — Miro Heiskanen
Andrej Sekera — Joel Hanley

Anton Khudobin
Jake Oettinger

Expected Scratches: Ty Dellandrea, Jason Robertson, Gavin Bayreuther, Thomas Harley, Landon Bow, Justin Dowling, Taylor Fedun

Unfit to Play: Stephen Johns, Ben Bishop, Radek Faksa, Blake Comeau

How to Watch

Puck Drop: 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET

Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB

Broadcast/Streaming: NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS, FuboTV

Series Schedule

Game 1: Stars 4, Lightning 1
Game 2: Stars 2, Lightning 3
Game 3: Lightning 5, Stars 2
Game 4: Friday, Sept. 25, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET
Game 5: Saturday, Sept. 26, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET
Game 6: Monday, Sept. 28, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET
Game 7: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET