Canadiens win Game 5, push Lightning to brink in Eastern 1st Round

TAMPA -- Alexandre Texier scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, lifting the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday.

The Canadiens lead the best-of-7 series 3-2. Game 6 is in Montreal on Friday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN2, The Spot).

Brendan Gallagher and Kirby Dach also scored for the Canadiens, who are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. Jakub Dobes made 38 saves, including 17 in the third.

"The group right now is really dialed in, playing some really solid hockey," said Gallagher, who was a healthy scratch in the first four games of the series. "It's fun to be a part of."

Dominic James and Jake Guentzel scored for the Lightning, who are the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves.

"We didn't get the job done," Tampa Bay forward Corey Perry said. "We pushed, but it wasn't there. It's frustrating in our building, but luckily there's a Game 6.” 

Texier made it 3-2 at 1:06. He took a stretch pass from Lane Hutson, skated into the left face-off circle and scored with a wrist shot to the far side that deflected off of Vasilevskiy's glove and into the net.

"We played a more mature game," Dobes said. "We experienced in the last game (a 3-2 home loss on Sunday) how to lose a lead, so I feel like today ... we know how it feels, we know what to do and I'm really proud of our group. I feel like it was a good effort all around."

Tampa Bay pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker with 2:33 left, but Dobes made 10 saves during that stretch to preserve the win.

"It's not an easy team to go that long 5-on-6 (against) and I thought we managed it pretty well," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "It wasn't one thing I think, it was collectively we found a way to keep it out of our net."

Gallagher gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 3:00 of the first period. Alex Newhook got his own rebound off the end boards and had the puck knocked away at the edge of the crease before Gallagher buried it from in front.

"Just his presence, his energy, you know what he's going to bring on the ice every time he puts on that sweater," Montreal forward Josh Anderson said of Gallagher. “It was exciting to see him get a goal on the first shift and give our team a boost."

James tied it 1-1 at 6:49 of the second period. After Gage Goncalves dug the puck out in the defensive zone, he fed James to start a 2-on-1. James looked off a pass to Ryan McDonagh and put a snap shot under the glove from the right circle for his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal in his fifth postseason game.

"You dream about (the first playoff goal), right?” James said. “It's just so tough that they scored the shift after and we were out there. It kind of rains on the parade a little bit."

Dach put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 just 11 seconds later. He made a strong move to the net, lost the puck while fighting off a poke check from Vasilevskiy and scored past the glove at 7:00.

"I think if you look at our lineup or ask anybody in this room, everybody's comfortable being a goal-scorer or point producer, but sometimes that's not what the game asks of you," Dach said. "For our line, we just want to continue to play the same game each and every night and be consistent on the forecheck and play a good 200-foot game, and when we do get rewarded, it's obviously nice."

Guentzel tied it 2-2 at 17:23. He faked a pass to Oliver Bjorkstrand on a 2-on-1 and whipped a shot from the right circle through Dobes’ five-hole.

"We just lost a Game 5, so there's lots going on in my head right now," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Did I think we had our best game? We clearly did not. Is it really disappointing to come home and lose? It is. This is something we should take a ton of pride in and dig our heels in and not accept."

NOTES: Hutson had an assist for his 10th career playoff point (two goals, eight assists in 10 games), requiring the fewest games by a defenseman to reach the mark in Canadiens history (Chris Chelios, 13 games). … Texier has four points (two goals, two assists) in the past three games. ... Montreal won 33 of 50 face-offs (66 percent), with Jake Evans going 12-for-14 (86 percent). ... Lightning forward Nick Paul was a late scratch due to an illness. Conor Geekie replaced him in the lineup and was minus-1 with one shot on goal and three hits in 5:04. … It was the fourth straight 3-2 game in the series. The teams have split the four games.