St. Louis Seeks More 5-on-5 Scoring Ahead of Game 5

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis acknowledged the need for more even-strength scoring from his top forwards as the team prepares for Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the first-round playoff series tied at two wins apiece.

The Canadiens host no points at five-on-five from their top six forwards through four games, yet remain competitive heading into Wednesday's matchup in Tampa, Florida. Their most recent contest, a 3-2 loss in Game 4 on Sunday at Montreal's Bell Centre, featured limited even-strength production overall. St. Louis noted during a Monday virtual news conference that both teams play tight defense. "It would be nice to have more opportunities at 5-on-5," he said. "I think it's two teams that don't give up much space. If you look at the goals scored yesterday, we got one breakaway goal on a lucky bounce and we scored a power-play goal. They scored at 4-on-4, on the power play, and they took a shot from the boards that hit the face of a player at the front of the net."

Montreal's top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky has tallied 11 points in the series, all on the power play, with seven coming in Game 1. That marks a...