Hedman gets 2 points, Lightning hold off Canadiens to win 4th straight

MONTREAL -- Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak to four games with a 5-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Sunday.

“Especially the last four, (Atlantic) divisional matchups, four of six, right before the break, you know, your mind can swivel off a little bit,” said Hedman, who will play for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off. “But the guys stayed true to the task and a big, big sweep in these divisional games and we were able to come up with four wins. So, that’s very big for us.

“Today was a grind. It wasn’t the prettiest of games that we’ve played, but we got the win.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who also made 34 saves in a 6-3 win at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, stopped 32 shots for Tampa Bay (31-20-4), which went 5-0-1 in its final six games before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

“To see [Vasilevskiy] playing like that gives us so much confidence,” Lightning forward Brayden Point said. “Obviously, I think he stole this one for us tonight.”

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov took part in warmups but did not play because of an upper-body injury. He is day to day.

“He tweaked something last night and couldn’t go, so the break’s great timing for him,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.

Brendan Gallagher scored twice for Montreal (25-26-5), which has lost three straight and is 1-7-1 in its past nine games.

“I think everybody needs a break now and we’ll address what we need to address when we get back together,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “But I don’t think I need to convince my players to keep fighting.”

Jakub Dobes allowed three goals on eight shots before being replaced bySam Montembeault, who made 11 saves in relief.

“I wasn’t going to be patient tonight,” St. Louis said.

Nick Paul gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 6:56 of the first period. He took a pass from Brandon Hagel while he was all alone in front before spinning and lifting a backhand over Dobes’ left pad.

Hedman made it 2-0 at 10:28. He drove the slot, received a pass from Gage Goncalves and beat Dobes glove side with a wrist shot.

Josh Anderson had a chance to cut the lead at 16:19 after he was hooked by Hedman on a breakaway, but he shot wide on a penalty shot.

Gallagher did cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 18:53. He skated into a drop pass from Alex Newhook and beat Vasilevskiy blocker side with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

Point scored his own power-play goal at 1:05 of the second to put the Lightning ahead 3-1.

Zemgus Girgensons pushed it to 4-1 at 6:43, tappingCam Atkinson’s pass into an open net. It was his first goal since April 2, 2024, when he played for the Buffalo Sabres.

“That’s a long time coming for that poor kid,” Cooper said. “He’s had so many chances, and Atkinson made a great play to him, but if you saw our bench, guys were super fired up for him.”

Christian Dvorak made it 4-2 at 12:45 with a wrist shot past Vasilevskiy’s right pad from the top of the right circle.

Gallagher got Montreal to within 4-3 at 9:19 of the third with a wrist shot glove side from the top of the left circle.

“I’m really appreciative for the role that I’m put in,” Gallagher said. “I feel like Marty gives me a chance to have an impact on the game every single night and I’ve embraced it.”

Cirelli scored into an empty net with 16 seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.

NOTES: Hedman had his 179th multipoint game, passing Sergei Gonchar for third among European-born defensemen in NHL history. Only Nicklas Lidstrom (264) and Erik Karlsson (207) have had more. … Point has 13 power-play goals, which is tied for the NHL lead with Lightning forward Jake Guentzel.