The Tampa Bay Lightning are a win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup for a second consecutive year if they can manage to down the Montreal Canadiens Monday night at Bell Centre in Game 4.

The Habs may have their backs against wall, but hope remains for this team which has seemingly beaten the odds numerous times during their remarkable run in these playoffs.

Let's take a closer look with the latest version of By the Numbers. 

 

Home Sweet Home

Over their long history, the Canadiens hold an impressive 7-1 record while facing elimination on home ice in the Stanley Cup Final. Their lone loss came in 1989 when the Calgary Flames defeated them, 4-2, in Game 6 at the Montreal Forum to capture their first and only Stanley Cup. 

If the Habs are going to improve to 8-1, they will obviously need to acquire a lead which is something they have yet to do over the first three games of this series.

Time Montreal led - Series by series 

Round 1 (Toronto) - 119:06
Round 2 (Winnipeg) - 167:32
Round 3 (Vegas) - 129:05
Round 4 (Tampa Bay) - 0:00

--

Brooms Ready

A win Monday night by the Lightning would mark the first time in 23 years that a team has swept the Stanley Cup Final. The Detroit Red Wings accomplished the feat in back-to-back years in 1997 and 1998. 

The Los Angeles Kings are the only team to go up 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final since the Wings of the late 1990s, doing so in 2012 and 2014. They lost Game 4 each time, but would end up winning the Cup in six and five games, respectively. 

Furthermore, Tampa can become the sixth defending champion in four decades to repeat with a four-game sweep. Before the '98 Red Wings, there were also the Pittsburgh Penguins (1992), Edmonton Oilers (1988) and New York Islanders (1982 and 1983).  

--

Against All Odds

The Lightning have a series record of 3-0 when leading a series 3-0 and have a Game 4 record of 2-1 when having the opportunity to sweep. 

On the other hand, the Habs have lost all 11 of their series when they trail 3-0, but have a Game 4 record of 6-5. 

All-time, teams leading 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final are 26-1. The lone team to overturn an 0-3 deficit in a Stanley Cup Final was the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who fought back to stun the Red Wings in seven games.