Canadiens vs. Lightning Game 3 Top Six Minutes: Pushed to the brink

The Lightning prove too potent for the Habs on home ice.

By Justin Blades@JustinBlades Jul 2, 2021, 11:02pm EDT

The first Stanley Cup Final game in Montreal since 1993. And the first ever at the Bell Centre. Should be an entertaining night.

That’s a very large 3.500-fan crowd. It’s loud in the building to start.
And now pretty quiet as the Lightning get on the board first. It’s another goal from the defence.
Things go from bad to more bad as Eric Staal flips the puck out to put the Lightning’s power play on the ice.
And now it’s worse as Victor Hedman beats Carey Price to make it 2-0
Dominique Ducharme uses his timeout, so there will be no challenged from him tonight, except the one he just gave his team.
Another close call, but Price is able to clear it away.
Montreal is starting to play much better.
Cole Caufield gets enough space to get off a shot, but it’s a loud ping off the post. That would have been a good one.
Phillip Danault gets a bit of open space, hits the same post, but this one is half an inch more inside, and we have a 2-1 game. Great shot from a player who doesn’t do that often.
A late power play as Mikhail Sergachev tackles Artturi Lehkonen on his way to the net.
And here’s Cole Caufield this time looking for a tying goal
Well they didn’t do much of anything with that. So off to the intermissions they go with the Canadiens back in the game after a near-disastrous start.

It’s a 2-on-0 for the Lightning, and quickly it’s a two-goal game once more. Can’t do that versus this team
Or 2-on-1s. 4-1
Not exactly the start you’d expect from a team that worked so hard to get back in it in the first
The team looks completely dispirited on the next couple of shifts.
Starting to get a bit of pushback here. There’s a long hill to climb.
Despite the odd-man rushed the defencemen are staying aggressive in the offensive zone. Nothing to lose now.
The level is gradually beginning to drop as the minutes tick away in the second.
But they’re still trying to score at least
There’s one. It’s a great Nick Suzuki shot.
Cole Caufield nearly gets another one on the next shift, but it’s just out of his sweet spot. Maybe he’ll get one in the third.

Number-one priority: don’t allow two goals in just over a minute to start.
A good start, with good looks right around the net from the fourth line.
well no quick two-goal srike from Tampa Bay, so that’s better.
Pat Maroon shot off the post.
The Lightnin are doing a better job of shutting this down now. Not nearly as much aggression from the blue-liners, which is the smart approach.
Here comes the push.
There’s a fifth goal to seal it. Price lost a rebound, and it’s in the net.
... Or not. Corey Perry makes it 5-3 with a top-shelf shot.
... Or yes. 6-3.
That’s it.