For the second time in as many games in this series, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in overtime on Tuesday night. In a reversal of the last game’s script, it was Tampa who took the lead in the first period, surrendered it to two consecutive goals by the Habs, then tied it in the third to send the game to extra time. Unfortunately for Montreal, the reversal of the script held true there as well, and a goal from J.J. Moser won it for the Lightning, splitting the first two games in Tampa before the series shifts to La Belle Province.
I would have loved a win for the first video edition of the podcast, but sometimes the hockey gods just don’t smile on you every day.
It would take a serious dose of pessimism to call that game a complete failure, even if they were that close to getting a 2-0 series lead and came up just short. For three periods, it was a very tightly contested game in which the Habs were creating more scoring opportunities than their hosts. It was like two elite heavyweights going blow for blow, and one could argue that the Habs were ahead on the scorecard going into that final round. Thing is, that final round in this game was an overtime period where you just need one good shot, and they didn’t seem ready for that period in the slightest.
It was undeniably disappointing for them to fall as flat as they did in overtime, but there’s no denying that they’ve accomplished some things through their two games in Tampa. First, they’ve made it abundantly clear to the Lightning that they’re not going to be pushed around in this series. Physicality was considered by many as a potential weakness, and yet they’ve been the aggressors more often than not. They came in as underdogs, with many questions about whether this young lineup could withstand the intensity of the playoffs, and they’ve put Tampa on notice that this is much more of a fight than they perhaps expected. Tampa won that battle, but they know without a doubt that their opponent is ready and willing to go the distance in the war.
Second, they proved that they can win in Tampa’s barn. Last year, winning a game in Washington was nigh impossible for them, overtime or otherwise. Coming into this series, once again as the underdogs and without home-ice advantage, they needed to prove they could win on the road in the playoffs. Now, they’ve erased that advantage. There are potentially five games remaining in this series, and three of them would be at the Bell Centre. If they simply refuse to let Tampa win a game in what promises to be one of the rowdiest playoff atmospheres we’ve ever seen, they’ve put themselves in a position for that to win them the series.
Lastly, their depth seems more robust than that of Tampa’s at this juncture. Josh Anderson has been an absolute Demon. With him, Phillip Danault and Jake Evans round out a line that seems incredibly problematic for the Lightning to deal with. Almost all of Tampa’s scoring has come from their usual suspects, while the Habs have been getting a little more kick from their bottom six. In a long series, and one where they’re about to have better matchup control for two games, you have to wonder how that depth might factor in favourably for Montreal.
So yes, they lost the battle, but they’ve conclusively proven that this is more of a war than most were expecting, and they’re ready to fight until the end.
If you’d rather not look at my face for 20-plus minutes in the video above, click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Friday night, when the series shifts to the Bell Centre for game three.
