Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper believes his club's overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final came down to a matter of inches.

"Probably not hit as many posts as we hit," Cooper said postgame when asked what the Lightning could have done differently. "Puck's been going in for us, tonight they didn't. Did I think we generated enough chances to score? I did. They didn't go in. Sometimes that happens."

Tampa Bay struck iron multiple times on Monday night. The biggest chance was Nikita Kucherov's deflection attempt in the dying minutes of the third period with the game tied.

The Lightning controlled play throughout the contest. At five-on-five, the defending champs fired 60.98% of the shot attempts, 77.78% of high-danger chances, and 70.66% of expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.

However, Josh Anderson's heroics in overtime kept the Canadiens' season alive.

Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.

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The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Nick Bjugstad to a one-year, $900,000 contract, the team announced Monday.

Bjugstad was set for unrestricted free agency this summer following his six-year, $24.6-million contract he signed with the Florida Panthers in 2014.

The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Bjugstad to the Wild last September. He notched 17 points in 44 games while averaging 11:49 of ice time per contest with the Wild.

Florida drafted Bjugstad 19th overall in 2010. He's recorded 224 points in 483 career contests.

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The Montreal Canadiens are pulling out all the stops for their do-or-die Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme announced pivot Jesperi Kotkaniemi will be scratched in favor of Jake Evans, according to Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press. Additionally, Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak will draw in on defense for Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill.

The Canadiens are also promoting Tyler Toffoli to the top line and bumping up Josh Anderson to the second line. Here's the projected lineup:

Kotkaniemi, the 2018 third overall pick, has recorded five goals and three assists in 19 games this postseason. However, he's scored just once in his last 12 contests.

"It's nothing against (Kotkaniemi) or anything else, but we have depth and we have options," Ducharme said, according to TSN's John Lu.

"Again, it's not punishment ... sometimes as a hockey player you face these moments," Ducharme added. "He's a good team guy and understands the situation even though nobody wants to sit."

Evans morphed into a lineup fixture until suffering a concussion on a hit by Mark Scheifele during Round 2. He's skated in just one game since then.

Meanwhile, Romanov and Kulak have skated in two and 11 games, respectively, in these playoffs.

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Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks has died at age 24, the team announced Monday.

Kivlenieks suffered an apparent head injury during a fall. Medical personnel were called immediately, but he died a short time later.

“We are shocked and saddened by the loss of Matiss Kivlenieks, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his mother, Astrida, his family, and friends during this devastating time," Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson said. "Kivi was an outstanding young man who greeted every day and everyone with a smile, and the impact he had during his four years with our organization will not be forgotten."

Kivlenieks appeared in two games with the Blue Jackets in 2020-21 and six contests the season prior. He spent most of the past two campaigns with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters.

The native of Riga, Latvia, also represented his country on the international stage. He posted a .922 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average in four games at the 2021 World Championship in his hometown, including a 38-save shutout over the heavily favored Canadian squad.

Columbus originally signed Kivlenieks as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said she wants the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, even if it means losing Game 4 to the Montreal Canadiens on the road.

"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 Amalie Arena for the final and the winning of the Stanley Cup," Castor said.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but (the Lightning) are playing some amazing hockey," the mayor added.

The Lightning lead the series 3-0 and can win the Cup on Monday in Montreal. If necessary, Game 5 would be in Tampa, with a potential Game 6 in Quebec and the final contest back in Florida.

Relatives of Lightning personnel aren't allowed to enter Canada in time for a potential celebration if Tampa wins Game 4.

Last season, the Lightning claimed the Cup in the Edmonton bubble with only their Canadian relatives present. However, the team later held a championship celebration upon returning to Tampa.

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Mikhail Grigorenko is going back to Russia.

The forward signed a three-year contract with the KHL's CSKA Moscow on Saturday. He returns to the club with which he played three seasons from 2017 to 2020.

Grigorenko collected four goals and eight assists in 32 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021. He was a pending unrestricted free agent.

The 27-year-old had his most productive seasons during his previous stint with CSKA. He tallied 19 goals and 22 assists over 47 games in 2019-20. That followed a 17-goal, 35-assist effort across 55 contests the previous campaign.

Grigorenko helped the KHL squad win the Gagarin Cup as league champions in 2018-19, adding 13 goals and eight assists in 20 playoff games. He also helped the team reach the final in 2017-18, notching nine goals and four assists in 21 postseason contests.

The Buffalo Sabres drafted Grigorenko 12th overall in 2012. He played for the Sabres until 2015, when they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche. Grigorenko played with Colorado for two seasons before joining CSKA for his first KHL stint.

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The Montreal Canadiens are aware their backs are against the wall, facing an 0-3 hole against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Habs believe they have the right mindset to flip the script.

"Well, we've got nothing to lose at this point. Everyone's going to be ready for tomorrow night, I can tell you that," forward Josh Anderson said Sunday, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "We're not finished yet. So take it one game at a time and come in tomorrow night ready to play."

Tampa Bay took a stranglehold of the Stanley Cup Final with a 6-3 victory Friday night and can earn its second consecutive championship with a win at the Bell Centre on Monday.

When asked if it would sting to watch another team celebrate in Montreal's rink, Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry said, "We don't want to see the Lightning win the Stanley Cup at all.

"You're not going to win four games by winning one tomorrow. Our goal is to win tomorrow's game and deal with flying out and preparing for a game in Tampa."

Only four teams in NHL history have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only club to do it in the final. The New York Islanders (1975), Philadelphia Flyers (2010), and Los Angeles Kings (2014) are the other three franchises to accomplish the feat.

The Stanley Cup Final hasn't ended in a sweep since the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals in 1998.

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