The Tampa Bay Lightning have taken a commanding 3-1 series lead against their cross-state rivals. However, it may have come at a cost.

Nikita Kucherov scored a third-period power-play goal and added three assists to go with a plus-2 and four shots. However, he left the game later in the third period after taking a dirty slash in the back of the leg (an unprotected area) from Anthony Duclair. When asked after the game about Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev (more on him below), Jon Cooper offered a terse "nothing." By the end of this game, Kucherov had moved into the playoff lead in scoring with nine points (3 G, 6 A) over the four games, but we already know he'd represent a significant loss if he were to miss any games.

Duclair chops Kucherov in the back of the leg, and the Lightning winger is hurting pic.twitter.com/WR4fjwD5wj

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 22, 2021

With the game out of hand at 6-2, the Panthers did what many teams that are losing a playoff game badly do, which is to rough things up in an attempt to get under the opponent's skin next game. There was plenty of extracurricular activity after the whistles. Mason Marchment took a dangerous run at Ross Colton near the net. Sergachev was also hurt after taking a borderline hit from Patric Hornqvist, so watch for his status for Game 5.

All of the shenanigans also overshadowed the outstanding game from Alex Killorn, who scored two goals and added two assists. Two of those points were on the power play, where Killorn has been thriving with the stacked Bolts first unit. Killorn has points in each of his last three games and seven points overall.

The Florida goaltending carousel continues. Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 14 shots. Chris Driedger, who took over after that, probably figures to start a do-or-die Game 5. The Panthers have allowed an average of nearly five goals per game, which is not going to get it done in the playoffs. The Panthers actually outshot the Lightning 41-26 in this game.   

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Ilya Sorokin was less than three minutes away from earning a shutout in Game 4. Instead, he'll have to settle for a 29-save win over the Penguins to tie the series at four games. Sorokin made a strong case to start for the Islanders again in Game 5. He has been in net for both of the Islanders' wins in this series, while Semyon Varlamov has been in net for both losses. This is probably going to be a case of Barry Trotz riding the hot hand.  

The Islanders have kept Sidney Crosby in check during this series, as he has not recorded a point in his last three games. Crosby has just one point in this series, which is a goal from Game 1. Overall, the Isles are a tough matchup for Sid in the playoffs, as he also tallied just one assist when the Pens were swept in four games in 2019.

The new Player VS Opponent feature on Frozen Tools allows you to determine how Crosby performed during the regular season against the Islanders, or against any other opponent at any other interval. I used it to find out that Crosby scored nine points (3 G, 6 A) in eight games during the regular season, so him struggling against the Islanders is just a playoff thing.

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More John Tavares injury news surfaced on Saturday. In addition to a concussion, the Leafs captain has a knee injury that will force him to be out at least two weeks. Tavares likely sustained the knee injury in the initial collision with Ben Chiarot, while it is known that the concussion resulted from hitting Corey Perry's knee after that. The timeline means that Tavares likely won't return to the series against Montreal.

The Leafs appeared to be in great shape without Tavares for Game 2, tying the series at 1-1 with a 5-1 win. Auston Matthews led the way offensively for the Leafs with a goal and two assists. Matthews was held without a point in Game 1 in spite of taking eight shots on goal.

Jack Campbell was credited with his first career playoff win in stopping 22 of 23 shots for the Leafs. The Leafs also snapped a nine-game playoff losing streak against the Habs, which dated all the way back to 1967!

Rasmus Sandin scored a power-play goal in the second period that Montreal somehow decided to challenge. I couldn't see anything wrong with the goal and neither could anyone else on Twitter, but somehow it took a while to decide before it was eventually ruled a good goal. Elliotte provides a good rule of thumb regarding the time needed for video reviews.

New rule: if a challenge takes longer than Enter Sandman, call on ice cannot be overturned

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 23, 2021

Sandin, by the way, has been used on the PP1 over Morgan Rielly recently. This is something to watch for the remainder of the playoffs and into next season because it could affect both players' values. In spite of the recent power-play jump, Sandin has only averaged 14-15 minutes during the two playoff games. It appears he is being used as a power-play specialist but very little at even-strength as Sheldon Keefe leans on Rielly, Jake Muzzin, T.J. Brodie, and Justin Holl as his top 4.  

William Nylander scored a goal and added an assist, giving him goals in back-to-back games. He has taken four shots in each of those two games.

Nick Foligno has played nine games for Toronto (seven regular-season, two playoff), but still has yet to score his first goal for the Leafs.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi entered the lineup for Jake Evans in Game 2 and scored Montreal's only goal.

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Remember when the Golden Knights were believed to be shopping Marc-Andre Fleury, thinking the veteran goalie was past his prime and that Robin Lehner was the goalie of the future? The whole "stabbed in the back" portrait on agent Allan Walsh's Twitter? Maybe Lehner is still the goalie of the future, but Fleury is still (once again) the goalie of right now in Vegas. He has the Golden Knights just one win away from an inevitable second-round collision course with Colorado.

Fleury stopped all 35 shots he faced in Game 4 to pick up his third consecutive win and 16^th career playoff shutout. Here is how he stacks up all-time.

Most career shutouts in #StanleyCup Playoffs history

Martin Brodeur: 24
Patrick Roy: 23
Marc-Andre Fleury: 16
Curtis Joseph: 16#VegasBorn

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 23, 2021

A coach's challenge helped Fleury get the shutout, as a first-period Joel Eriksson Ek goal was waived off after Marcus Foligno had interfered with Fleury.

Nicolas Roy scored twice for the Golden Knights – the first goal in the first period, then an empty-net goal to make it 4-0. The points were Roy's first of the playoffs. Keegan Kolesar assisted on both of Roy's goals.

Zach Parise was back in the Wild lineup for Game 4, replacing the injured Marcus Johansson. Parise was held without a point with a minus-2 and two shots in just over 12 minutes of icetime.

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Of my three Saturday Tim Hortons Challenge picks, one scored a goal (Ondrej Palat). Neither Nick Foligno nor Morgan Rielly could score a goal, but I'm okay with 1-for-3 because it's better than 0-for-3. Read more about it in this thread in the Forum, and find the challenge on the Tim Hortons app if you want to try it out.

I know this seems like free advertising for a large corporation. So for the record, I'm not a frequent Timmy's customer, although I do have some of their coffee at home. I just thought this was a great way to keep the Ramblings interesting, particularly when I know at least a few Dobber visitors are already playing this game.

Without further ado, here are my Sunday picks:

Pick 1: Blake Wheeler – Lots of appealing picks in this group, including Taylor Hall and Gabriel Landeskog. Give me Wheeler, as he has taken four shots in each of the two games against Edmonton. Wheeler has scored one goal (an empty-net goal), so he might be due for another one with Mike Smith in net.

Pick 2: Tyler Bozak – The Blues could very well be done after this game. But this is only for one game, and as I mentioned yesterday Bozak is being used on the first-unit power play with David Perron out.

Pick 3:  Devon Toews – This one was mostly defensemen, so I went through the goal leaders among defensemen. Toews was the clear winner in this group with nine goals. I picked Toews two nights ago and he didn't come through, so maybe he is due. He has yet to score a goal in his three playoff games.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding