Stanley Cup Final Game 3 Live Blog: Canadiens vs. Lightning

Game 3 is over and the Tampa Bay Lightning are one win from a second straight Stanley Cup Championship after a 6-3 win on Friday.
The Lightning win spoiled the first Stanley Cup Final game in Montreal since 1993.
Shawn P. Roarke was at Bell Centre and provided all the sights and sounds.

10:55 p.m.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from winning the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons after taking a 6-3 victory at Bell Center on Friday.
Game 4, and the first of four chances to close out the series, is here Monday.
The 3,500 fans on hand stayed proud and loud to the end. "Go Habs Go" chants could be heard in the final 10 minutes of the game and each near-goal and big hit was met with loud groans.
It wasn't enough, though, to slow the juggernaut that is the 2021 Lightning, who put a serious damper on the party that accompanied the first Final game in the history of the Bell Center and the first in Montreal since 1993 at the Forum.
The Lightning have 14 goals in the series and have outscored the Canadiens by nine goals in the three games. Three teams in the history of the Stanley Cup had a goal differential better than plus-9 after three games: the 1970 Boston Bruins (plus-12), the 1996 Colorado Avalanche (plus-10) and the 1919 Seattle Metropolitans (plus-10), also against the Canadiens.
Can Montreal change the narrative? They will have to in Game 4 if they hope to avoid the first sweep since 1998 and return the series to Tampa for a Game 5.
Join us for the Game 4 live blog to see how it all turns out. See you Monday.

10:45 p.m.

The drama is not finished yet. The two teams have traded goals to make it 5-3 Lighting in the final minutes and hope remains in Montreal
For the Lightning it was Tyler Johnson with his second of the game to make it 5-2. But with 4:02 remaining Montreal forward Corey Perry got his fourth of the playoffs to cut the lead to two goals once again.

Carey Price, the Montreal goalie has given up five goals in two of the three games in this series.

10:35 p.m.

Reality is starting to settle in here at the Bell Centre with the Canadiens trailing 4-2 with 10 minutes left in the game.
Some of the vim and vigor has been taken from the crowd by this show of dominance by the Lightning, who are back to stifling the Montreal attack, sitting back a bit more passively with a two-goal lead. Montreal has six shots in the first 10 minutes of the period.
It's been hard for Montreal to get any momentum at all, trailing in each of the three games and being outscored 12-4 in eight-plus periods. The Lightning have been so opportunistic on offense throughout the series, capitalizing repeatedly on mistakes.
Consider this, the Lightning are the fourth team in the past 30 years to score 12 or more goals through the first three games of a Final. The 2019 Boston Bruins scored 13, the 1997 Detroit Red Wings scored 14 and the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 had 14 goals in a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers. If the Lightning hold on here, they could earn the sweep on Monday in Game 4 here, becoming the first team since the Detroit Red Wings did it, against the Washington Capitals, in 1998.

10:15 p.m.

Despite the 4-2 score going against the Canadiens, their fans partied throughout the second intermission, taking part in a sing-a-long and dancing throughout the 18-minute break.
Hockey is such a part of the fabric of life here and attending games was not a possibility for so long. So despite a score that is not in the least bit appealing, the fans are celebrating a return to the rituals they have missed for far too long.
It is awesome to see.
Maybe the Canadiens give them more to cheer about in the third period.
Nick Suzuki brought some hope back when he scored in the final three minutes of the second period to make it a two-goal game.
It is the first time in the series that Montreal has scored more than one goal against Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, so they are making progress on that front. But if they are going to solve him three times, at a minimum, in the third period, they are going to have to generate more chances. After having 17 shots in the first period, they had eight in the second, with most coming in the final five minutes of the period. They had two shots in the first 10 minutes.
But before any of that can happen, Montreal needs to stop Tampa Bay from striking early as It has in each of the first two periods.
It could be an interesting final 20 minutes here at Bell Centre.

10 p.m.

Montreal forward Nick Suzuki did his part to keep hope alive, scoring his seventh of the playoffs at 18:10 of the second period to make it a 4-2 game in favor of the Lightning.
The crowd loved the goal, which was assisted by defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Cole Caufield, not only for its beauty but for the fact it makes a third-period rally a bit more manageable.
One of the biggest questions here as Montreal trails by two goals heading into the third period of Game 3 here is what has happened to goalie Carey Price?
The consensus front-runner as the playoff MVP when the Final started, Price has allowed 12 goals in eight periods against the Lightning. Before this series, he had not allowed more than two goals in three consecutive games. He has allowed five, three and four and counting in Game 3.
He hasn't gotten the help he received in previous rounds, that's for sure. Tampa Bay has scored on a 2-on-0 tonight as an illustration of some of the breakdowns that have plagued the Canadiens, but he also hasn't been sharp, allowing a couple of goals that he had stopped in previous rounds.
If Montreal wants to find a way back in the series, stingy Price is going to have to make a dramatic return.

9:40 p.m.

It's apparent that the Lightning smell blood halfway through Game 3.
They lead 4-1 on the strength of two quick-strike goals in the first four minutes of the period and have allowed Montreal two shots.
If the Lightning can hold on here, they would have a chance to win the series and defend their title in Game 4 here on Monday. The Calgary Flames are the only team to win the Stanley Cup in Montreal, doing it at the Forum in 1989.
Montreal needs some answers and they need them fast. They have been outscored 12-3 so far in the 130 minutes of the series.

9:30 p.m.

The two-goal outburst to start a period has haunted the Canadiens again. This time it was forwards Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson scoring in the first 3:33 for a 4-1 lead.

Kucherov on a 2-on-0 with Ondrej Palat at 1:40 of the second period to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead. It was Kucherov's eighth goal of the playoffs and his 32nd point, which leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Johnson scored off a pass from Mathieu Joseph, who got his first point of the Final. Joseph replaced the injured Alex Killorn last game.
The hill has gotten much more steep for Montreal, but its fans continue to urge them forward.

9:25 p.m.

The first intermission was a mixed bag here.
The game presentation crew played the full version of "Eminence Front" by The Who in the outro from the first period. Never a bad choice as it is one of the band's best tunes and a real rocker in a crowd setting.
But then one of the great joys of coming to Montreal for a game was missing. There were no grilled hot dogs in toasted buns during intermission. The hot dog at Bell Centre is one of the true joys in life. It has been a highlight of every trip I have made here since coming to Montreal for hockey games since I went to the Forum in 1994 to cover my first game here the New Jersey Devils visited.
One of the things I always enjoy about coming to Montreal is that their intermissions are relatively gimmick-free. It is a lot of music and a lot of fan shots. The fans here know how to entertain themselves at a hockey game, that's for sure.
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the second period. The Lightning talked after Game 2 about tightening up their defensive-zone coverage after allowing 43 shots last game. But they were anything but tight in the first period here, allowing 17 more shots. Can they find a way to blunt Montreal, which is gaining confidence in transition?
Or will they continue to rely on goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, which has not been a bad plan so far?
Let's find out, shall we? Here we go in the second period!

9:05 p.m.

A fantastic first period of hockey is over and the Lightning lead 2-1.
The Lightning went for the knockout blow in the first few minutes of the game, scoring twice in the first 3:27.
But the Canadiens, feeding off the positivity of a downsized, but extremely loud crowd somehow staggered back into the game, cutting the lead in half on a rush goal by Phillip Danault at 11:16. Now, the Canadiens are playing with the desperation appropriate to the third game of a best-of-7 series they trail 2-0.
Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev took an interference penalty with 2:31 remaining, further fueling Montreal's confidence and feeding into the volume the fans were generating.
Defenseman Joel Edmundson had a quality chance from the point, with forward Corey Perry providing a screen, but Vasilevskiy found the puck in time. Montreal had four shots on the power play.
The physical play that marked the first two games in Tampa remains as jousting matches erupted after many of the saves were made in the first period. The first period was the hardest, as far as quality shots, the Canadiens have made goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy work so far.
They will need to solve him at least two more times to win, which is a tall order considering they have three goals in the first seven period of the series.
We'll be back for the second period soon.

8:50 p.m.

The comeback has begun, at least that is what the raucous fans here believe.
Forward Phillip Danault scored off the rush, his wrist shot beating Andrei Vasilevskiy high to the blocker, off the post. at 11:16 to cut the Lightning lead to 2-1. Shea Weber got the only assist and the goal came on Montreal's 10th shot.
It is the third goal Vasilevskiy has allowed in the first 131:16 of this series.

8:45 p.m.

Can we talk about the Lightning defensemen for a minute?
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, their offensive output was non-existent. They did not score a goal in the first 12 games of the playoffs. In the past six games, they have six goals, including both tonight.
The Lightning are hard to handle when their forwards are going full throttle, but when their defensemen get involved, it is a scary proposition. The Canadiens are learning that lesson right now.
The Canadiens are rallying a bit here, finding their footing. They lead in shots 9-8 and forward Cole Caulfield had a wrister from the slot bounce off the left post for Montreal's best chance in the first 10 minutes.
But the Lightning lead 2-0 midway through the first period in a game the Canadiens absolutely need to have.

8:40 p.m.

It was not the start the home fans wanted, with Tampa Bay scoring two early goals, but they haven't lost faith.
During the first stoppage after the second goal, caused when Tampa Bay forward Blake Coleman crashed into the boards hard and needed attention, the fans chanted supportively for goalie Carey Price and also launched into a spirited "Let's Go Habs" chant.
Things have seemed to settle down a little bit, but it's still 2-0 Lightning just seven minutes into the game.

8:30 p.m.

After a thrilling pregame, the Lightning have taken the life out of the crowd with two goals in the first 3:27 of the game. First Jan Rutta scored at 1:52 and Victor Hedman followed 1:35 later.

The pregame show was amazing, the crowd roaring as if it was a full house instead of 3,500. When the houselights dimmed, the crowd roared like it was the start of a rock concert.
The bass from the Bell Centre sound system only amplified the sensation, as did the synchronized light-up bracelets the fans wore. Mimicking the lighter held overhead in days gone by. To say this place was ready to rock would be an understatement. There were 28 years of pent-up emotion being released, but again the Lightning, on consecutive shots, have taken much of the buzz out of this place.

7:45 p.m.

The Lightning and Canadiens are going with the same lineups tonight that they used in Game 2.
For the Lightning, that means forward Mathieu Joseph is in again for Alex Killorn, who sustained an unspecified injury blocking a shot in Game 1 and didn't play Game 2.
Joseph played 6:23 in Game 2, had one shot and four hits.
The line matching should be interesting now that Montreal has the last change. Coach Dominique Ducharme, returning after a two-week quarantine related to COVID-19 protocols, will have the opportunity to get his checking line, anchored by center Phillip Danault, against Tampa Bay's top line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat, which has three goals and five assists in the first two games.
But before we get to the tactical intricacies of this series, let's talk about the atmosphere.
The Canadiens just stepped on the ice, amazingly to "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, the same song that brings the Lightning out during their home games. The Canadiens were greeted by a towel-waving, foot-stomping, screaming cadre of 3,500 spectators that sounded like three times that number. Almost every fan is in either a red or white Canadiens jersey, although one woman directly across from me stands out with her blue Lightning jersey. Her companion is in a red Montreal jersey.
We have no idea what is going on outside (I'm not allowed to leave building due to COVID-19 protocols for NHL staff) but the crowd that will watch the game outside was growing by the minute as the bus chugged through downtown right around 6 p.m.
See you for puck drop in about 30 minutes.

7 p.m.

Welcome to the first Stanley Cup Final game played in July!
It doesn't feel like July here in Montreal. It's a bit chilly (low 60s), overcast and windy, more like spring and the start of playoffs than summer and near the end.
Fans are already gathering in large numbers outside Bell Centre for the first Final game in Montreal in almost 30 years. The atmosphere is electric outside and it promises to be inside as well, even with capacity capped at under 4.000 fans by the Canadian government because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Much is on the line in Game 3. Montreal needs a win to avoid facing elimination in Game 4 on Monday. Five teams have won a best-of-7 Final after losing the first two games, none since the 2011 Boston Bruins. Montreal is looking to do it for a third time, joining rallies completed in 1966 and 1971.
A further bit of good news can be found in the Canadiens' record at home. The Canadiens had a 58-19 record in Stanley Cup Final games at the Montreal Forum, where they clinched 12 of their championships. They are 60-19 as the home team in Stanley Cup Final games since 1917-18, including a 23-5 record in the NHL expansion era (since 1967-68). This is the first Final game at the Bell Centre, which opened for the 1996-97 season.
As we get ready for Game 3, here is a primer from the
NHL.com
staff:
-- Montreal needs to score first in Game 3 to gets its confidence going and the crowd behind it,
says senior writer Dan Rosen in his 3 keys to the game
.
-- The Canadiens hope to get a bounce from the return of coach Dominique Ducharme, who is back from COVID-19 protocol and will coach his first game of the Final.
Columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika has the story
.
-- The Lightning have described Game 3 in Montreal as a "pinch-yourself moment."
Staff writer Tom Gulitti explains why the Lightning
and their coach are eager to embrace the challenges that lie ahead.
-- The Canadiens have been a resilient bunch throughout the playoffs and there is no panic in their room after the first two games,
writes correspondent Sean Farrell
-- Despite allowing two goals total in the first two games of the Final, Tampa Bay says it can be better defensively.
Correspondent Corey Long explains
.
-- The fifth episode of "Quest for the Stanley Cup" debuted Friday.
Here is a review from staff writer Amalie Benjamin
.