Lightning opportunist defeats Canadian 3-1

(Montreal) A formidable team like the Tampa Bay Lightning does not always need to have a big game to win and the Montreal Canadiens learned the hard way on Tuesday at the Bell Center.

Alexis Belanger-Champagne
The Canadian Press

The Lightning did not play their best hockey, but it was enough to win 3-1. The Presidents' Trophy champions with 62 wins last season, which matched an NHL record, made the effort to win through a late-season and first-run time.

For its part, the Canadian has had ups and downs. He was a victim of Lightning opportunism, but may not have done enough to complicate the work of goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy.

"We are responsible for our misfortune and these are things we can not do as a team," said Canadiens head coach Claude Julien. If we want to be successful, we have to be able to play 60 minutes. Certainly there will be ups and downs, but there can not be situations like the ones we saw tonight for five or six minutes. "

Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, while Braydon Coburn and Tyler Johnson also hit the target for the Lightning (3-2-1), which is 9-2-2 against the Canadiens since the start of the season. the season 2016-17. Nikita Kucherov had two assists and Vasilevskiy stopped 33 shots.

Jeff Petry, in the first period, was the only scorer of the Canadian (2-2-2). Carey Price made 19 saves.

The Lightning lacked teeth early in the game, but the Canadian was not able to fully enjoy.

Petry opened the scoring with a power-on-goal penalty at 15:46, but the damage could have been bigger. Vasilevskiy stopped a desperate shot by Jonathan Drouin and was also alerted to recover a loose puck in his area, after Joel Armia tried to beat him by skirting his net.

The Lightning finally found its benchmarks late in the first period and created the tie with seven seconds to go, after a long presence in the territory of the Tricolore. The Canadiens players were stuck on the ice for 1:54 and Coburn finally tied the game.

"(Jesperi) Kotkaniemi's trio was on the ice and the attackers could have recovered the disc twice. They could have smothered the game two or three times. The blame must be shared a little, "said Julien, who eventually changed his trios at the end of the second period.

The visitors took the lead after 64 seconds of play in the second period, thanks to a shot at receiving Stamkos on the power play. Artturi Lehkonen had just touched the pole at the other end of the ice.

Johnson then took advantage of a quick counter-attack during a change on the Canadian bench to widen the gap to 3-1 just 57 seconds later.

Then there were some good hits, including one from Petry against Kucherov with the hip.

The Habs played with more energy in the third period. Max Domi was frustrated at close range by Vasilevskiy with his right leg.

Kevin Shattenkirk was punished with a 6: 50 penalty for delaying the game by releasing the record in the crowd, but the Canadiens failed to exploit the power play.

The Canadiens will play their next game on Thursday, when they host the Minnesota Wild.

Cloakroom Echoes

Jeff Petry believes that the slowdown in the first period and early in the second sank the Canadian:

"For a good portion of the first period, we played well. Then late in the period, it changed. We then talked during the intermission about the importance of having a good start in the second. A few small mistakes have gone by and we have not been able to get back on track. "

The duo of Shea Weber and Victor Mete were on the ice for the Lightning's five goals against five. Weber admitted that they had a difficult night:

"We spent a lot of time defending. I think everyone would like to play in his zone and spend more time on the other side of the ice. For some reason, we often got stuck in our territory tonight. "

Braydon Coburn, who is not known for his offensive prowess, was happy to score a goal against Carey Price:

"I think I've been playing against Price since he was 16 and playing at Tri-City (in the Western League). I do not know how many goals I scored against him, but that one was satisfying. "