In a game filled with pivotal moments, the biggest one for the Lightning happened late in the second period when Max Crozier delivered a thunderous open-ice hit on Juraj Slafkovsky.
At the time, the Lightning were trailing, 2-0, and in jeopardy of falling behind in the series, three games to one. Soon after the Crozier hit, the Lightning scored two goals to tie. The tallies were separated by the second intermission, but in terms of hockey time elapsed, they came in a span of 2:34.
The rest of the third period was filled with twists and turns, but the Lightning completed the comeback with the winning tally at 15:07. The series is now a best-of-three.
Neither team scored a goal in the first half of the game, and there were very few scoring chances between them. Both clubs checked tightly and limited opposition time and space. Still, there were quite a few close calls, and the Lightning generated most of them. Several goalmouth scrambles around Jakub Dobes almost led to a goal, but the Canadiens managed to keep the puck out by tying up Lightning sticks or coming up with timely blocks.
Montreal’s most dangerous sequence through the first 30 minutes came in the opening period when the Habs received consecutive power plays. They posted six shots on goal during the man advantages, which overlapped by 12 seconds.
But then, just past the halfway point of the game, the Canadiens broke through. Zach Bolduc made a power move to the net off the rush, and it yielded a fortunate bounce. Andrei Vasilevskiy poked the puck away with his stick, but the puck hit Bolduc and caromed in.
On the next shift, the Lightning received a power play with a chance to tie. They almost did, but Jake Guentzel’s open look from the low shot hit the crossbar. As the penalty ended, Dobes made a save on Guentzel, who tried to follow up. He was called for slashing, and the Habs converted on the power play that followed. Nick Suzuki held the puck at the bottom of the left circle as Cole Caufield slipped free to the front of the net. Suzuki delivered the pass, and Caufield put it in at 13:29. The two Montreal goals, sandwiched around the near miss for Guentzel, came in a span of 3:23.
It was the first two-goal lead for either team in the series, and the Canadiens looked to extend it when they received another power play less than a minute later. Crucially, the Lighting killed it off, keeping the deficit at two.
Then came the Crozier hit. With just over two minutes left in the period, Slafkovsky accepted a pass at the center ice circle. Just as he turned, Crozier arrived. The hit knocked Slafkovsky on his back, and although he got off the ice under his own power, he went straight back to the Montreal dressing room. (He was able to return for the entire third period.) Mike Matheson took a retaliatory slashing penalty on Crozier, putting the Lightning on the power play at 18:05. But Brandon Hagel was called for a penalty early during that man advantage, putting the teams into a four-on-four situation with 1:27 left in the frame.
Taking advantage of open ice, the Lightning made a play in the offensive zone. Guentzel gave the puck to J.J. Moser near the blue line and cut to the slot. Moser drifted to the right circle before sending a pass back to Guentzel, who’d gotten a step on Jayden Struble. Guentzel directed the puck past Dobes at 19:06.
The four-on-four extended through the end of the period, and the Lightning almost tied the game in the closing seconds. But Crozier’s backhand attempt from the low slot was slowed by a deflection, giving Dobes time to sweep it out of the crease before Guentzel could jam it in.
To start the third, the Habs had a brief power play after the four-on-four ended, but they didn’t score. On the first shift back at five-on-five, Oliver Kapanen high-sticked Dominic James, who was driving to the net. The Lightning tied the game on the ensuing power play. Nikita Kucherov set up at the bottom of the right circle, and Hagel gained position in front. Hagel put the pass from Kucherov into an open side of the net. The goal at 1:40 knotted the score at two.
Plenty of drama remained. The Canadiens took another high-sticking penalty at 10:44, and during that penalty kill, Jake Evans cross-checked Kucherov in the Lightning end. Kucherov crashed into the boards and was momentarily shaken up. The call on Evans put the Lightning on a five-on-three for 1:11. Kucherov didn’t start the five-on-three but joined it soon after it began. The Lightning were unable to break the tie, as the Habs held them to just one shot on the five-on-three and one more on the five-on-four.
Having killed off both ends of the five-on-three, the Canadiens buzzed in the Tampa Bay end for the next two shifts but didn’t score. Then the Lightning got Hagel, Kucherov, and Brayden Point on the ice. After Erik Cernak dumped the puck in from the neutral zone, Kucherov picked the puck up at the right circle and fed Moser at the right point. Moser returned the puck to Kucherov, and he threw the puck at the net. Hagel once again gained position in front—the puck hit him and went into the net at 15:07.
The final minutes were nerve-racking. The Habs drew a penalty on Kucherov with 2:33 remaining. They didn’t pull Dobes for a six-on-four immediately, opting to run their usual five-on-four for almost a minute. They did pull the goalie over the final minute of the power play, creating a two-man advantage. Montreal helped itself by winning five consecutive faceoffs on the power play (there were multiple stoppages), but the Lightning held their structure and allowed only one shot on goal during the kill. The Lightning navigated through the final half-minute during the six-on-five to secure a dramatic comeback win.
No team has managed to win back-to-back games so far in the series. The Lightning will try to break that trend in Game Five on Wednesday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Two goals.
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Goal and assist.
- Max Crozier — Lightning.
