Carrier's return sparks Canadiens' win against Lightning in Game 1

TAMPA -- At the start of the third period of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, Alexandre Carrier bowled over Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli with a solid shoulder check. Cirelli, who had brought the puck into the Montreal defensive zone, had just missed a pass and was trying to recover the puck when he suddenly found himself lying flat on his back at Benchmark International Arena.

With a single, out-of-character physical play, Carrier sent a loud and clear message to the Lightning to kick off the best-of-7 series. After missing nine games toward the end of the regular season due to an upper-body injury, the 29-year-old defenseman proved that he had fully recovered in order to help his team.

"I thought he did great in his return," Canadiens forward Cole Caufield remarked in the visitors' locker room on Monday, one day after Montreal's 4-3 overtime win against the Lightning. "He was clearly well rested. He worked like crazy to be able to come back for the start of this series.

"He didn't have an easy assignment in his first game back, going up against the Lightning's top line. He also delivered some solid hits, which isn't often the case for him. He usually finds himself on the other side (of the physical play). He's a player with character."

When it comes to the rough stuff, Carrier has never backed down, but he tends to find himself more often the target rather than the aggressor. In the Canadiens' 2025 Eastern Conference First Round series against the Washington Capitals, Carrier was belabored relentlessly, taking 26 hits in just five games. Kaiden Guhle (24 hits), Mike Matheson (15), and Lane Hutson (12) also received their fair share of checks from the Capitals.

Tampa Bay has apparently not yet read Washington's memo. On Sunday, Lightning coach Jon Cooper's squad didn't hit Carrier a single time. Montreal captain Nick Suzuki took the most hits among Canadiens players, with just six.

However, Carrier cautioned that things can change very quickly.

"It's a bit less physical than the series against Washington, that could help me," Carrier said. "I need to stay alert and watch what's happening around me. When you play big minutes and you get hit on every one of your shifts, it gets tough. I expect a response from the Lightning in the next game. They'll play more physical and they'll change up their strategy a bit."

With the loss of defenseman Noah Dobson, out for at least another week due to an upper-body injury, Montreal desperately needed Carrier to come back.

Montreal coach Martin St. Louis handed Carrier a rather difficult task on his return to duty. He and Matheson were regularly deployed against the Lightning's top forward line in Brayden Point, Gage Goncalves, and Nikita Kucherov.

"That wasn't an easy situation, but it looked easy for him," Guhle said regarding Carrier. "He really did a good job after being out a couple of weeks. It was like he hadn't missed any games at all. He had some nice touches, he played physical, he blocked shots and made good plays. We needed that."

Carrier, for his part, remained humble.

"It's everybody's job to give a little more. But I know I'm the only right-handed defenseman while Dobson's out. In Game 1, we all raised our game."

In 18:36 of ice time, Carrier finished with an assist, two blocked shots, three hits and a plus-1 rating.

Another Canadiens defenseman, Arber Xhekaj, also passed his first test against the Lightning. The punishing blueliner used his massive shoulders to deliver five hits in 10:59 of ice time.

But more importantly, he played a mistake-free game.

"I feel like he really took advantage of the reps he was getting at the end of the season, he played some good minutes to rebuild his game," St. Louis noted. "I liked how he kept it simple in Game 1 and how he played in a way that his teammates could predict his moves. He was composed. He played physically without crossing the line."

With the score tied 3-3 with less than two minutes remaining in the third period, Xhekaj and his defensive partner, Jayden Struble, hopped on the ice. The fact that a third defense pair would be given a shift at such a pivotal moment of a playoff game reflects the amount of trust that they had earned from St. Louis and his assistants.

At Monday afternoon's practice in Tampa, the Canadiens rolled out the exact same lineup, indicating that there will likely be no changes to the squad for Game 2.

After all, why change a winning formula?