Lightning rally past Canadiens in Stanley Cup Final rematch

MONTREAL -- The Tampa Bay Lightning scored twice in the final 2:09 of the third period and won their season-high fourth straight game, 3-2 against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Former Canadiens forward Corey Perry tied it 2-2 at 17:51, and Ondrej Palat finished a 2-on-1 off a feed from Alex Killorn to score the game-winner at 19:22.
It was the first game between the teams since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning won the best-of-7 series in five games.
"It wasn't our best game," Palat said. "I thought Montreal played well, executed good. It wasn't a perfect game, but we have two points on the road so I'll take it."

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves for Tampa Bay (16-5-4), which had won three straight three previous times this season.
"We weathered the storm," Lightning forward Pat Maroon said. "I guess good teams find a way to win, and we found a way to win tonight. I thought Montreal was really good. They played fast and pushed the pace pretty well."
Nick Suzuki and Jonathan Drouin each had a goal and an assist for Montreal (6-18-3), which is 0-3-1 in its past four games and has two wins in its past 12 (2-8-2). Jake Allen made 21 saves.
"They obviously beat us in the Cup Final last year, so we wanted to take it to them tonight," Suzuki said. "I thought we did a good job pretty much all game."
Steven Stamkos' pass from the left boards struck Canadiens defenseman and former Lightning teammate David Savard's stick and went into the net off Perry to tie it with Vasilevskiy pulled for the extra attacker.
"[Stamkos] sees the game really well and you knew eventually we were going to break through, we just didn't know how," Maroon said. "Obviously it was kind of an ugly goal to tie the game, but good things happen when you throw pucks to the net, and 'Perrs' was there."

Perry has scored nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past nine games, including three points (two goals, assist) in a 7-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. He had one assist in his first 16 games after leaving Montreal to sign a two-year contract with Tampa Bay as a free agent July 29.
"He's my best friend and obviously playing against him the last two years in the Stanley Cup [Final], I just know what he's capable of," Maroon said. "He's a goal-scorer, he's an elite player and I just knew he could help our team. And he's got that leadership that he can bring over. He's won before, he gets it and he plays the right way. We're obviously very happy to have Corey. He's been on a tear here lately and it's been fun to watch."
Maroon gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 10:31 of the first period, tucking the puck around Allen after Canadiens defenseman Kale Clague fanned on a clearing attempt from behind the net.
Suzuki tied it 1-1 when he scored for a second straight game at 4:20 of the second period. He scored from the left edge of the crease on a pass from Savard to finish off a three-way passing play he started after Mike Hoffman stripped the puck from Killorn in the Canadiens zone.
"With the puck, I thought we created some good looks," Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme said. "Without the puck, I thought we were at the right spot most of the night. And we wanted to make sure that we were solid and a block of five, and I thought most of the night we did that."

Drouin put put Montreal up 2-1 at 7:08 when Mike Hoffman's shot through traffic went off Drouin's skate and over Vasilevskiy's glove after Suzuki won a face-off in the right circle.
"It was right there for us and it hits 'Perrs' in the knee and goes in," Suzuki said. "And then another just rush at the end and they scored and we lose the game. Just two little things, and that's the kind of bounces we've been getting so far."
NOTES: Vasilevskiy became the second NHL goalie to win 60 games in a calendar year including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is 60-21-4 with 16 playoff wins. Marc-Andre Fleury was 62-30-6 including 16 playoff wins for the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. … Savard received his Stanley Cup ring from the Lightning. He signed a four-year contract with the Canadiens on July 28 after facing them in the Final. … Montreal forward Christian Dvorak left the game 4:57 into the second period with a lower-body injury. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday, Ducharme said. ... Clague was minus-1 and played 17:29 in his first game for Montreal, which claimed him off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. ... Suzuki's assist on Hoffman's goal was his 100th NHL point (34 goals, 66 assists) in his 154th game.