Another fast start allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to earn their fourth straight victory in the team’s final game before the 4 Nations Face-off break.
Tampa Bay led 2-0 midway through the first period in Sunday’s game in Montreal and left with a 5-3 victory over the Canadiens.
Nick Paul got the offense started for the visitors 6:56 into the game, scoring on the backhand in tight. Captain Victor Hedman doubled the lead less than four minutes later.
Montreal’s late power-play goal at the end of the first period cut into the Lightning advantage, but Brayden Point regained the three-goal lead in the early moments of period two on the power play.
Forward Zemgus Girgensons’ first goal as a Bolt made it 4-1. Montreal scored the next two goals, but Anthony Cirelli capped the win with an empty-net goal.
Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy earned his fourth straight win with 32 saves, and four different Lightning players finished with two points.
The Lightning are now 31-20-4 and begin the two-week 4 Nations break.
Scoring summary
TBL 1, MTL 0
6:56 Nick Paul (16) - Brandon Hagel
The Lightning took advantage of a Montreal turnover to score the first goal on Sunday. Forward Brandon Hagel found the puck and fed Nick Paul, who deked to the backhand and roofed the opening goal.
TBL 2, MTL 0
10:28 Victor Hedman (8) - Gage Goncalves, Anthony Cirelli
Tampa Bay’s captain extended the visitors’ lead on a 4-on-1 rush. Forward Gage Goncalves entered the zone on the right side and fed a rushing Victor Hedman in the slot, where the latter scored on a glove-side shot.
TBL 2, MTL 1
18:53 Brendan Gallagher (13) - Alex Newhook, Mike Matheson - PP
Montreal took advantage of a late power play to get on the scoreboard when forward Brendan Gallagher’s shot from the left faceoff circle made it 2-1.
Shots on goal: MTL 12, TBL 6
Second period
TBL 3, MTL 1
1:05 Brayden Point (31) - Jake Guentzel, Hedman - PP
Brayden Point’s NHL-leading 13th power-play goal added to the Lightning lead 65 seconds into the second period. Point had an open net to shoot into after Montreal’s goalie fell in the crease.
TBL 4, MTL 1
6:43 Zemgus Girgensons (1) - Cam Atkinson, Mikey Eyssimont
Forward Zamgus Girgensons’ first goal with the Lightning was a netftont look after a pass from Cam Atkinson at the right post. Girgensons tapped the puck home for the 4-1 lead.
TBL 4, MTL 2
12:45 Christian Dvorak (6) - David Savard, Juraj Slafkovsky
Montreal cut into the lead with a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.
Shots on goal: MTL 9, TBL 8
Third period
TBL 4, MTL 3
9:19 Gallagher (14) - Matheson
Gallagher’s second goal of the game came from the left circle, where he fired a shot off the far post and in to make it a one-goal game.
TBL 5, MTL 3
19:44 Cirelli (20) - Guentzel, Hagel - EN
Anthony Cirelli closed the scoring with an empty-net tally.
Total shots: MTL 35, TBL 21
