Lightning complete comeback with OT win

TAMPA-- Tyler Johnson scored 1:36 into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.
Johnson took a wrist shot that deflected off the stick of Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu and got past goalie Carey Price high on the stick side.
"We had to stick to our system, keep going, keep driving," Johnson said. "Feels good for us to get back, get the win, get the two points and keep going."

Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat scored for Tampa Bay (18-15-3), which trailed 3-1 and had lost five straight to Montreal.
WATCH: All Canadiens vs. Lightning highlights
"We needed points," Lightning forward Brian Boyle said. "It was a bit of a sloppy game, [but] that's two points in the bank."
Alexander Radulov, Shea Weber and Chris Terry scored for Montreal (21-9-5). Price made 26 saves.
"No positives," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "This is unacceptable."

Palat tied it 3-3 on a power-play goal with 3:30 remaining in the third period when he beat Price with a wrist shot to the short side. Hedman made it 3-2 with 8:46 left when he beat Price with a low wrist shot to the far post.
Weber gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 13:31 of the first period with a power-play goal. After Montreal won the offensive-zone faceoff, Paul Byron got the puck to Weber in the slot, and his one-timer beat Andrei Vasilevskiy high on the stick side.
Terry made it 3-1 at 3:07 of the second period with his second goal of the season. Daniel Carr blocked the Lightning from clearing the puck and found Terry open in the slot, where he beat Vasilevskiy, who was out of position.

"We definitely don't want to play on our heels when we have a lead like that," Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty said. "We like to go in their end and not give them any momentum, but unfortunately they created offense and got some momentum."
Radulov gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 3:24 of the first period after Byron disrupted Vasilevskiy's attempt to play a puck behind his net. Byron forced the turnover and found Radulov in front of an open net.

Johnson tied the game 1-1 at 10:39 of the first. Palat had the puck and found Nikita Kucherov in the slot. He made a quick pass to Johnson, who beat Price to the open net.

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Goal of the game

Johnson's first goal came from the reunited "Triplets" line.
"The Triplets were outstanding, I thought they were our best line on the ice and the stat sheet will show that," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They did everything we've watched them do for the last few years."

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Save of the game

Price made a stick save to deny Palat on a clear look at an open net 1:01 into the second period. Jonathan Drouin dug out the puck from behind the net and made a centering pass to Johnson, who flipped it to Palat in the slot, but Price turned away the puck with the paddle of his stick.
"[Carey] played a great game," Pacioretty said. "A couple of those big saves early in the game might get overshadowed, but we probably should have fed off of them and we didn't."

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Unsung performance of the game

Byron had two assists and was plus-1. His first assist was the product of harassing Vasilevskiy and forcing him into a mistake with the puck.

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Highlight of the game

Johnson's game-winner was the result of a little good luck that seemed to catch Price off guard.
"[Garrison] made a heads-up play, and we got a 2-on-2, but their guys backed off," Johnson said. "So I wanted to create something, and luckily for me I was able to just shoot it, and I saw the far side open and it went in."

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They said it

"The desperation was not there. They certainly had more desperation than us." -- Canadiens coach Michel Therrien
"It's obviously big to get that goal and get within one. We battled hard and we didn't give up and we were able to capitalize on some turnovers, and the power play came through." -- Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman

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Need to know

Lightning forward Valtteri Filppula was a healthy scratch after missing a meeting Wednesday morning, but Cooper said he will be back in the lineup Thursday. "[Filppula] has been a real pro in everything he does," Cooper said. "He made a mistake. It was an extremely tough decision." ... Lightning forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point didn't finish the game; Cooper said each will be evaluated.

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What's next

Canadiens: At the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, SNE, RDS, NHL.TV)
Lightning: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SUN, SNO, NHL.TV)