Tampa Mayor Jane Castor Wants Lightning to Lose to Canadiens to Win, Celebrate in TB

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from their second straight Stanley Cup triumph with a 3-0 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens heading into Monday night's Game 4.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is not-so-secretly hoping for a Game 5, albeit for good reason. With Game 4 set for Montreal and the series due to return to Tampa for a potential Game 5, Castor says she wants the Lightning to get a chance to celebrate in front of the home crowd.

"What we would like is for the Lightning to take it a little bit easy, to give the Canadiens just the smallest break, allow them to win one at home, and then bring it back to the Amalie Arena for the final and the winning of the Stanley Cup," Castor said Sunday. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. But they are playing some amazing, amazing hockey."

The Lightning were forced to celebrate their 2020 Cup victory without fanfare because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NHL held the Stanley Cup Final in Montreal as part of a bubble arrangement. 

Family and friends of players/staff were not permitted to cross the Canadian border for Games 3 and 4 in Montreal, so the team would be facing a similar situation to last year if they were to win Monday night.