The Lightning closed out their road trip and the back-to-back with a 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday night.
Tampa Bay started fast, getting a goal from Nikita Kucherov in the first minute of regulation and going on to build a 4-0 lead after one period.
Goaltender Matt Tomkins earned the first win of his NHL career, stopping 23 of the 26 shots Montreal sent his way.
Tampa Bay now heads back home to face Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL 1, MTL 0
19:36 Nikita Kucherov (1) – Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point
Brayden Point picked up the puck in the neutral zone and fed it to Brandon Hagel. Hagel took the puck wide to Nikita Kucherov at the right circle. Kucherov’s one-timer got past Jake Allen on the first shot of the night to give the Bolts the early lead.
TBL 2, MTL 0
12:45 Nick Paul (1) – Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman
After a dump-in from Montreal’s zone, Nikita Kucherov fought off the Habs and tossed the puck to Victor Hedman. Hedman fed the puck to Steven Stamkos at the far wall, and he shot the puck low, leading to a chance for Nick Paul to tap the rebound into Montreal's net.
TBL 3, MTL 0
10:51 Alex Barre-Boulet (1) – Brandon Hagel, Mikhail Sergachev – PPG
A holding call on Juraj Slafkovsky led to a Tampa Bay power play. Just under a minute into the power play, Brandon Hagel played a cross-ice feed to Alex Barre-Boulet, and his shot took a deflection off the skate of Mike Matheson and slipped past Jake Allen.
TBL 4, MTL 0
6:10 Mikey Eyssimont (1) – Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak
After a big hit on Brendan Gallagher by Tanner Jeannot, Erik Cernak gained possession in front of the Bolts crease. He crossed the puck to Victor Hedman who played the puck up the wall toward Mikey Eyssimont at the far blue line. Eyssimont made a nice move to enter freely down the left wing and grazed a shot from a sharp angle off Jake Allen's shoulder and in. Sam Montembeault replaced Allen in net for Montreal after the goal.
2nd* Period*
No Scoring.
3rd* Period*
TBL 4, MTL 1
13:10 Nick Suzuki (1) – Cole Caufield, Sean Monahan – PPG
Past the midway point of the third, Montreal got back-to-back power play chances and took advantage of the second. Mike Matheson took the puck through center ice and left the puck for Sean Monahan on the left side. Monahan’s centering pass to Cole Caufield ended up at the tip of Nick Suzuki’s stick and his one-timer broke through Matt Tomkins for the host's first goal of the night.
TBL 4, MTL 2
12:36 Michael Pezzetta (1) – Jake Evans, Kaiden Guhle
Just under a minute after Montreal put themselves on the board, Kaiden Guhle tossed the puck to the crease from the blue line. Jake Evans attempted to gather the puck and was unsuccessful, but the rebound was carried into the net by Michael Pezzetta.
TBL 5, MTL 2
2:20 Nick Paul (1) – Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos – PPG
After a holding call on Michael Evans, the Bolts had some good scoring chances early in the power play. Nikita Kucherov slammed a shot from the right circle, and Sam Montembeault was able to make the save but couldn't to hold the rebound. Set up in front of the crease, Nick Paul was able to grab the rebound to add on to the Bolts lead.
TBL 5, MTL 3
0:20 Christian Dvorak (1) – Jordan Harris, Justin Barron
Justin Barron on the puck positioned a wide pass to Jordan Harris who played the puck to Christian Dvorak. Dvorak carried the puck through the neutral zone and buried his wrist shot to round out the scoring with a late goal.
