First period
- The puck has been in Tampa Bay’s zone a couple of times in the opening minutes, so it’s already a better start than Montreal had been having over the past week.
- The top line, Lane Hutson, and Jayden Struble have the Lightning chasing in their own zone. Tampa Bay’s final act on the shift is a desperation stick lift that hits Struble in the face and draws blood, giving Montreal a four-minute power play.
- They’re getting shots, and that’s what you want to see. The Lightning are surprisingly lax in their coverage, maybe the effect of fatigue from all their games recently.
- It’s a shooting gallery in the Lightning zone.
- Montreal has a 5-0 shot advantage, and 14 attempts. Even with no goal they’re looking good.
- Tampa Bay gets its first shot on a giveaway inside Montreal’s end. It’s an easy stop for Jakub Dobeš, but they should probably not do that again.
- Noah Dobson tries to get to a puck he chipped ahead. His stick is held so he can’t go after it. The players are going to have to start letting go if their sticks and leaving the Lightning players holding two if they’re going to do this again.
- Now Arber Xhekaj is getting called for something ridiculous after getting tripped by Corey Perry as the Lightning get set up in the offensive zone for the first time in the game.
- Montreal took Darren Raddysh’s shot away at the point, and the Lightning generated nothing on their power play.
- Demidov isn’t paying attention to where his stick is as he skates into the offensive zone and ends up jabbing J.J. Moser in the face with it. A little too careless from him on that play.
- Kucherov is getting frustrated with Montreal shutting down the power play and slashes Josh Anderson after he clears the puck. Anderson responds with a shove of Kucherov’s head, and they will both go to the box. I’ll take that trade-off every time. I think Anderson may have his role if this turns out to be the opening-round series.
- Three chances for the top line, the last comes to Suzuki, who sends his shot off the post.
- In the zone again a few seconds later, Slafkovský hears a ping as his shot finds iron.
- They had Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning measured in the opening period, just not the distance between the goalposts.
Second period
- The second begins the same way as the first, with he puck on Montreal sticks in the offensive zone.
- The crowd gives Kucherov a sarcastic cheer as he tries to chase around the net but hits the post and crashes off balance into the boards.
- Anderson wins a race to the hashmarks on a delayed icing, but it gets called anyway. As he continues on he makes the lightest possible contact with Charle-Edouard D’Astous. The Lightning take exception and activate goon mode. They seem to have a lot more energy in their arms than they do in their legs tonight.
- The result is a power play for Tampa Bay somehow, despite the Lighting being the aggressors. They have one power play for each shot on goal they’ve managed.
- Tampa Bay hits a post, so they’re evening up that count.
- The post, a save for Dobeš, and another penalty is killed.
- Lane Hutson passes the puck up to Juraj Slafkovský, who makes a nifty little touch pass to Nick Suzuki that surprises the group of defenders in the neutral zone, who are left chasing. Suzuki gets the puck over to Cole Caufield, and the winger has his 50th goal of the season.
- It’s fitting that it was those four players, the top four scorers on the team, that combine to turn defence into the milestone goal.
- It also gives Slafkovský 70 points on the season, and moves Suzuki three points from 100.
- The Lightning don’t know how to respond to that other than with their hands after a whistle. This time Montreal gets a power play out of it.
- They did very little with the power play after the emotion of the 50th goal, and missed a chance to really send the crowd into a frenzy.
- Alexadre Texier takes a perfect pass and is looking at an empty net, but he sends it straight across the crease behind Vasilevskiy.
- Xhekaj loads up one of his 105.7 mph slapshots and hits Zemgus Girgensons square. The Latvian stays down for several seconds before limping back to the bench.
- Now the Lightning have decided to go after Montreal’s top line. They think they’re sending a message. The message I’m getting the last two games is that they can’t contend with Montreal any other way.
- If this is anything other than a Montreal power play, the refs might get pelted.
- They will be spared from smelling like beer the rest of the night. Montreal is going up five-on-four. Now to make this one count and try to deter the nonsense.
- Alright, Ivan, Cole already has 50. No need to attempt a pass through two sticks.
- RDS shows a graphic with shot attempts 40-14 Montreal. Evans races in a rush and gets hooked as he shoots. That’s another Montreal power play.
- But first, Anderson will finish a fight that Declan Carlile started with about 20 shots to Carlile’s head.
- Apparently they “forgot” about the initial penalty on Evans’s rush. Montreal has a two-minute power play on Carlile’s instigator, but not a five-on-three.
- The power play expires with no more goals.
- As completely outclassed as the Lightning have been tonight, they’re still just one shot from tying the game.
- Brayden Point gets a shot and then just skates through Dobeš. True loser behaviour here from the Lightning.
- The penalty-box attendant is shown scribbling on his clipboard, about to turn to a new page to record all the penalties.
- The Habs can’t gain the zone. They fall to zero-for-five on the power play tonight. Some of them have been short, but even so.
- The game should be a very comfortable 3-0, but the Lightning are still in it despite being the second-best team by a wide margin.
Third period
- Kapanen and Demidov create two scoring chances in the opening minute. But still no second goal.
- Anderson takes a stick in the teeth. Ten feet in front of the referee. No call is made.
- A Lightning defenceman pulls up at the goal line and watches the puck slide over the line. The linesman makes the icing call. Completely ridiculous.
- The officials are doing their best to bring the Lightning into a game they don’t want to be in.
- Suzuki doesn’t like his passing options and takes the shot on a three-on-one. Vasilevskiy makes the save and the rebound is cleared.
- I don’t like the way this game is starting to go. Sloppy play in Montreal’s end as the Lightning push a bit. The latest is a giveaway right to the slot by Mike Matheson who was under zero pressure.
- Moser helps them out with a roughing penalty with nine minutes to go. This power play has to make something happen, because now the Lightning are due at least one.
- No shots, no goal.
- Demidov gets too cute with a pass in the offensive zone amid three Lightning defenders, and ends up inadvertently kneeing Corey Perry in an attempt to recover the puck. Tampa Bay gets its power play with 5:38 on the clock.
- Dobeš makes an exceptional save on a point-blank shot, his best of a quiet night.
- Montreal gets a three-on-one short-handed, but the pass goes to Joe Veleno.
- The puck comes to Kucherov at the side of the net, but the angle is too sharp and his shot glances off the elbow of the net and out of play.
- The penalty is killed, but it was the most dangerous Tampa Bay looked all game. They can flip the switch for offence if you give them the chance.
- And with Vasilevskiy on the bench, the Lightning erase a terrible 50-minute effort with the tying goal off Raddysh’s stick. They don’t award points just for playing well, you have to actually score some goals.
- Score a goal, like Slafkovský does, his 30th with 61 second left to play. With four Lightning players deep in the zone, Suzuki wins the puck off the end boards and sets up Slafkovský, and Vasilevskiy can’t react fast enough to the change in possession.
- The Lightning pull the goalie once more, and an icing gives them a faceoff with 15 seconds to play.
- It takes two faceoff wins, but they kill off the final seconds, and move past Tampa Bay into second place in the Atlantic Division, two back of the Buffalo Sabres who have played one more game.
- The final back-to-back of the season awaits on the weekend, with the tumbling Columbus Blue Jackets first up on Saturday.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) I don’t think Carlile will be instigating any more fights
2) He’s making Franklin proud
1) And maybe again next year?
