Down the Frozen River

Tag: Jan Rutta

  • DeBrusk, Coyle spur electrifying overtime win against Lightning

    DeBrusk, Coyle spur electrifying overtime win against Lightning

    Jake DeBrusk had the game’s first goal less than a minute into the second period and assisted on Charlie Coyle’s game-winning overtime goal a little past the midpoint of the extra frame as the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, in overtime at Amalie Arena Friday night.

    Linus Ullmark (23-9-2, 2.58 goals-against average, .912 save percentage in 36 games played) made 28 saves on 29 shots against in the win for Boston.

    Tampa netminder, Andrei Vasilevskiy (35-16-5, 2.45 goals-against average, .917 save percentage in 56 games played), stopped 35 out of 37 shots faced in the overtime loss.

    The Bruins cemented 3rd place in the Atlantic Division as a result of the win– gaining a one point lead over the Lightning in the standings with a 45-21-5 record (95 points) to Tampa’s 43-20-8 record (94 points).

    Boston trails the Toronto Maple Leafs by three points for 2nd place in the Atlantic with the two clubs set to meet in the regular season finale on April 29th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

    The B’s, Bolts and Leafs each have 11 games remaining in their 2021-22 regular season schedules and are vying for home ice advantage behind the Atlantic Division leading, Florida Panthers, who’ve amassed 106 points so far with a 50-15-6 record (both are Panthers franchise records) in 71 games.

    As a result of Friday night’s win, the Bruins clinched their regular season series against the Lightning– finishing 3-0-1 against Tampa in the 2021-22 regular season– marking the first time that Boston beat the Bolts overall in their regular season matchups since 2017-18, when the Bruins went 3-1-0 against Tampa before losing in five games in the 2018 Second Round to the Lightning.

    Boston did not play Tampa last season as a result of the condensed 56-game regular season schedule and temporarily realigned divisions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    The B’s went 2-0-1 against the Bolts in 2019-20.

    The Bruins were without the services of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), David Pastrnak (undisclosed) and Hampus Lindholm (lower body) on Friday.

    Trent Frederic returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday night’s, 5-3, loss in Detroit with an upper body injury.

    As a result, B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, promoted Marc McLaughlin to the second line right wing with Frederic and Nick Foligno returning to their usual roles on the third and fourth line respectively.

    Tomáš Nosek was relegated from the second line back to his regular spot as the fourth line center– flanked by Foligno and Curtis Lazar on his wings as Jack Studnicka, Josh Brown and Anton Blidh served as Boston’s healthy scratches in Tampa.

    On defense, Mike Reilly suited up alongside Charlie McAvoy on the first pairing with Lindholm out of action, while Connor Clifton joined Derek Forbort on the third pairing.

    Among injured players, Lindholm is closer to a return than Pastrnak and may be ready to go in Washington, D.C. on Sunday afternoon.

    Reilly caught Corey Perry with a high stick to kick things off at 2:18 of the first period– yielding the night’s first power play to the Lightning as a result.

    Tampa, however, failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Midway through the opening frame, Matt Grzelcyk cross checked Brandon Hagel and cut a rut to the sin bin as a result at 11:33.

    The Bolts’ power play was cut short when Alex Killorn tripped Forbort at 11:50.

    After a span of 1:43 at 4-on-4, the Bruins had an abbreviated power play with Killorn in the box, but Boston couldn’t take advantage of their short skater advantage.

    Entering the first intermission, the score remained tied, 0-0, despite Tampa outshooting Boston, 11-10, in shots on goal.

    The Lightning held the advantage in blocked shots (6-3), giveaways (2-1), hits (12-10) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while both teams had one takeaway each.

    Tampa was 0/2 on the power play, while the Bruins were 0/1 heading into the middle frame.

    Reilly’s indirect pass intended for Brad Marchand bounced off the boards shortly after play resumed for the second period, whereby Patrice Bergeron was able to scoop up the loose puck and enter the attacking zone with Marchand in tow.

    Together, the two forwards worked their way towards the slot before Bergeron sent the puck to Marchand that Marchand quickly one-touched a pass over to DeBrusk (22) as No. 74 in black and gold crashed the net and slid the rubber biscuit through Vasilevskiy’s five-hole on a backhand shot.

    Marchand (41) and Bergeron (36) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal as the Bruins took a, 1-0, lead 47 seconds into the second period.

    Boston’s lead, however, wasn’t for long as Tampa mounted a surge in momentum that road on the coattails of a long shift for the Bruins as the B’s failed to clear their own zone.

    Perry received a pass from Jan Rutta and sent the puck across the slot to the opposite circle whereby Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (8) one-timed a shot past Ullmark– tying the game, 1-1, in the process at 3:28 of the second period.

    Perry (18) and Rutta (14) notched the assists on the goal.

    Midway through the middle frame, Anthony Cirelli tripped Marchand and presented the Bruins with another power play at 11:21.

    Less than a minute later, though, Erik Haula was assessed a roughing infraction for exchanging pleasantries with Rutta at 12:08.

    After 1:14 of 4-on-4 action, the Lightning had an abbreviated power play come and go with no result to show on the scoreboard.

    Late in the period, Foligno tripped Zach Bogosian, but despite their fourth power play of the night at 17:20 of the second period, the Bolts weren’t able to capitalize on the special teams action.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the score was tied, 1-1, while the Bruins outshot the Lightning, 26-17, including a, 16-6, advantage in the second period alone.

    Tampa held the advantage in blocked shots (11-5), takeaways (4-3), hits (22-21) and faceoff win% (55-46), while both teams managed three giveaways aside.

    The Bolts were 0/4 and the B’s were 0/2 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Reilly cut a rut to the box for catching another Lightning skater with a high stick– this time Ondrej Palat– at 1:33 of the third period.

    Boston’s penalty kill, however, stood tall once more.

    The two teams swapped chances as they went up and down the ice– end-to-end– at blistering speeds as Ullmark and Vasilevskiy wracked up save after save.

    Ullmark denied Brayden Point with his left pad on a breakaway almost midway through the third period after Boston had sustained offensive zone time, but couldn’t muster anything past Vasilevskiy at the other end.

    Palat tripped Marchand at 15:45 of the third period, but the Bruins couldn’t beat the Lightning’s penalty killing units.

    Overtime became a necessity with the score still tied, 1-1, after regulation.

    Boston outshot Tampa, 36-28, despite both teams managing to amass 11 shots on goal each in the third period alone.

    The Bolts led in takeaways (6-3), giveaways (6-5), hits (35-32) and faceoff win% (51-49) after 60 minutes. The B’s led in blocked shots (13-7).

    As no penalties were called in the extra frame, the Lightning finished the night 0/5 on the power play, while the Bruins went 0/3.

    Cassidy sent out Coyle, DeBrusk and McAvoy to begin overtime, while Tampa’s head coach, Jon Cooper, countered with Point, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman.

    The Lightning recorded the first shot of the overtime period, but it was Boston that’d win the game.

    After several short shifts, Tampa emerged with an upper hand in momentum as Kucherov and Point were back on the ice.

    Point couldn’t get a shot off as a loose puck bounced before him on the doorstep while DeBrusk backchecked the Lightning forward and took him out of the play.

    McAvoy skated up into the neutral zone with possession before dropping a pass back to DeBrusk as No. 74 rushed into the attacking zone– leading to a 2-on-1 with Coyle.

    DeBrusk flipped a pass to Coyle for a one-timer that went wide and caromed off the glass behind the net where the two forwards worked to win a battle for the loose puck.

    Coyle (16) wrapped around the net and got his own rebound to follow up with a second chance shot that hit the back of the twine– sealing the deal on a, 2-1, overtime victory for Boston as a result.

    DeBrusk (14) and McAvoy (43) had the assists on Coyle’s game-winning goal at 3:37 of the overtime period as the Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 37-29, despite both teams managing to fire one shot on net each in the extra frame alone.

    Boston emerged victorious with the all-important bonus point in the standings to separate themselves from Tampa, while exiting Amalie Arena with the advantage in blocked shots (13-9) by the end of the night as well.

    The Lightning left their own ice leading in giveaways (7-5), hits (36-32) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    Tampa is now on a four-game losing streak for the first time this season, while Boston improved to 9-0-1 in games following a game in which they’ve allowed five or more goals this season.

    Ullmark, meanwhile, is 6-1-1 in nine games (eight starts) since March 1st– amassing a 2.02 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in that span.

    The Bruins improved to 8-3 in overtime (10-5 past regulation) this season, while the Lightning fell to 9-3 in overtime (11-8 past regulation) n 2021-22.

    Boston is now 15-5-2 (9-2-1 on the road) when tied after the first period, 33-8-2 (18-4-1 on the road) when scoring first, and 13-4-0 (6-3-0 on the road) when tied after two periods this season.

    As a result of the overtime loss Friday, Tampa fell to 13-7-2 (7-3-2 at home) when tied after one, 19-17-3 (9-5-3 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal and 11-4-2 (5-1-2 at home) when tied through two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins wrap up their four-game road trip (2-1-0) Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena against the Washington Capitals.

    Boston returns to TD Garden for a three-game homestand beginning on April 12th against the St. Louis Blues.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning 2021-22 Season Preview

    Tampa Bay Lightning 2021-22 Season Preview

    2020-21 record 36-17-3, 75 points

    3rd in the Discover NHL Central Division

    Defeated Montréal in the Stanley Cup Final

    Additions: F Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, F Gabriel Dumont, F Remi Elie, F Charles Hudon, F Corey Perry, D Zach Bogosian, D Brent Seabrook (acquired from CHI), D Andrej Sustr, G Brian Elliott, G Maxime Lagacé

    Subtractions: F Alex Barré-Boulet (re-signed, then claimed off waivers by SEA), F Blake Coleman (signed with CGY), F Marian Gaborik (contract expired, informally retired), F Barclay Goodrow (traded to NYR), F Yanni Gourde (expansion, SEA), F Tyler Johnson (traded to CHI), F Ryan Lohin (signed with Charlotte Checkers, AHL), F Mitchell Stephens (traded to DET), F/D Luke Witkowski (signed with DET), D Andreas Borgman (signed with DAL), D Brian Lashoff (signed with DET), D David Savard (signed with MTL), D Luke Schenn (signed with VAN), D Ben Thomas (SHL), G Christopher Gibson (signed with FLA), G Spencer Martin (traded to VAN), G Curtis McElhinney (retired), G Anders Nilsson (retired)

    Still Unsigned: F Boo Nieves

    Re-signed: F Ross Colton, F Boris Katchouk, F Taylor Raddysh, F Gemel Smith, F Otto Somppi, D Fredrik Claesson, D Sean Day, D Cal Foote

    Offseason Analysis: One of the good things about winning the Cup is that the following season’s expectations are wiped clean. Sure, fans and analysts may want to see you win it again in back-to-back seasons, but that’s just icing on the cake and any run that comes up short in the year following a Cup ring can be forgiven.

    Luckily for Tampa, they won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, so if they don’t happen to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since the New York Islanders won four Stanley Cup rings in a row from 1980-83, that’s fine.

    The Lightning don’t get two straight years of postseason forgiveness, however.

    Rather, the Bolts are on the quest for the first dynasty in the National Hockey League since the Edmonton Oilers won three Cups in four years from 1987-90.

    That’s right, folks, Chicago didn’t have a dynasty when they won in 2010, 2013 and 2015. There’s a few too many years in-between.

    Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy and the rest of the Lightning, however, have a chance of doing something not even Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury with the Pittsburgh Penguins, nor Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford and the rest in Chicago were able to do– win three-straight Stanley Cup Finals.

    Oh and the dynasty thing too, which is a given.

    But success comes with a price in the loss of depth over time– whether it’s because of lower draft picks over time or simply due to salary cap constraints that pressure Cup winners into shipping out some of the glue guys from the team that just won it all in the middle of a summer-long party.

    It is, after all, a business.

    Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde– Tampa’s third line that could be a second line on any other roster– was broken up over the summer.

    Coleman joined the Calgary Flames in free agency, Goodrow was traded to the New York Rangers and Gourde was a victim of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft– in other words, the first certified star forward in the making for the Seattle Kraken.

    Though the Lightning will miss out on the speed and production of that line in their bottom-six, Tampa is more than ready to promote some bottom-six breakout stars from last season into genuine full-time roles, while also accommodating for general turnover after winning back-to-back Cups.

    Tampa General Manager, Julien BriseBois, signed Corey Perry to a two-year deal worth $1.000 million per season as a low-risk, high-reward veteran that can manage bottom-six minutes with efficiency at this point in his career– yielding 21 points in each of the last two seasons (5-16–21 totals in 57 games with the Dallas Stars in 2019-20, 9-12–21 totals in 49 games with the Montréal Canadiens in 2020-21), while finishing as the first runner up to the Lightning in back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances.

    BriseBois also added Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to the Bolts’ fourth line after Bellemare spent the last two seasons in a Colorado Avalanche uniform, recording 11 points (nine goals, two assists) in 53 games for the Avs last season, as well as a career-high 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 69 gamed with Colorado in 2019-20.

    Among internal options to move up into the top-nine or make the fourth line after spending last year on the taxi squad or bouncing around in recent years between stints in the NHL, AHL, Major Junior or college, Ross Colton, Boris Katchouk, Mathieu Joseph, Gemel Smith and Taylor Raddysh all present themselves as options to compete for– if not rotate in and out of– a spot on the fourth line.

    Colton scored the Cup clinching goal in the second period of Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final– the only goal of the, 1-0, victory over the Canadiens that secured Tampa’s second Cup ring in as many years.

    In 30 games last season, he had 9-3–12 totals. Not bad for a 25-year-old on the rise after spending parts of the last three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL).

    Joseph managed 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 70 games with the Bolts in 2018-19, before being limited to 4-3–7 totals in just 37 games in 2019-20.

    Last season, he bounced back with 19 points (12 goals, seven assists) in 56 games and is sure to continue to mesh well with Tampa’s influx of youth in the bottom-six as a 24-year-old forward.

    Entering 2021-22, Katchouk and Raddysh are still looking to make their NHL debuts, though Raddysh is slated to be in the lineup against Pittsburgh on Opening Night.

    While Tampa sorts out their supporting cast, one thing that’s remained consistent is the Lightning’s top-six as Kucherov returns to regular season action for a full 82-game slate alongside Point and Ondrej Palat on the first line.

    Meanwhile, Anthony Cirelli leads Alex Killorn and Stamkos on the second line as Hedman, Jan Rutta, Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak lead the defenders with Mikhail Sergachev paired alongside Zach Bogosian (he’s back!).

    Curtis McElhinney retired over the summer, though not before BriseBois upgraded his backup goaltender role with Brian Elliott first.

    Elliott’s looking to rebound from a rough stint with the Philadelphia Flyers over the last four seasons, in which he most recently went 15-9-2 with a 3.06 goals-against average, an .889 save percentage and two shutouts in 30 games played.

    He’s sure to benefit from 1) Tampa’s defense and 2) Vasilevskiy yielding an overwhelming majority of games in the regular season.

    Vasilevskiy produced a 31-10-1 record in 42 games last season with a 2.21 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and five shutouts in that span.

    As for what else is missing from this summer’s tactical overhaul with the salary cap in mind after winning back-to-back Cups?

    Let’s review all of Tampa’s trades from after the Final through now real quick, shall we?

    Goodrow was dealt to the New York Rangers for a 2022 7th round pick on July 17th, then BriseBois swapped a 2022 4th round pick for a 2021 4th round pick with Montréal at the second day of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft on July 24th.

    A few days later, he cleared out some salary by shipping Tyler Johnson to Chicago with a 2023 2nd round pick for Seabrook’s contract that is currently on the long-term injured reserve thanks to a career-ending injury that renders Seabrook as a forgiven cap hit on the books.

    Mitchell Stephens packed his bags out of Tampa for the Detriot Red Wings in exchange for a 2022 6th round pick on July 30th, then the Lightning sent Spencer Martin to the Vancouver Canucks for future considerations on July 31st.

    Offseason Grade: C

    Down the road, Point’s eight-year extension at $9.500 million per season is an excellent move made by BriseBois, but since that contract goes into effect starting next season (2022-23), it doesn’t sway the offseason grade for 2021.

    If it were just a postseason grade, the Bolts would get an “A”, but since this is a measure of everything that happened after the 2021 Stanley Cup Final and before the 2021-22 season gets underway, well, Tampa had an average summer.

    They filled some holes, shed some salary and were forced to make difficult decisions in other areas thanks to the existence of the salary cap and some key players being healthy for a change as the Lightning embark on their two-time defending Stanley Cup champion season.

    All in all, it’s not too bad to be a fan of the Lightning these days or a member of the organization– as long as you got here before the 2021 Stanley Cup Final wrapped up.

    This isn’t to say that Tampa will be bad by any means, but rather that they’re content with contending for the next few years to come– at least– so if they don’t win three Cup rings in as many years, that’s fine. They’ll be quite alright.

  • Lightning repeat as Stanley Cup champions in Game 5 shutout

    Lightning repeat as Stanley Cup champions in Game 5 shutout

    Ross Colton’s goal was more than enough to seal the deal on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history Wednesday night at Amalie Arena in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves in a, 1-0, shutout victory on home ice over the Montréal Canadiens as he became the first goaltender since legendary Canadiens goaltender, Ken Dryden, to play in every playoff game en route to winning back-to-back Stanley Cup rings.

    It was also the 5th shutout (6th of his postseason career) for Vasilevskiy this postseason as the Lightning goaltender became the first in league history to win all four series clinching games in a shutout.

    He’s also won his last five consecutive playoff series’ in shutout fashion as Tampa shutout the Dallas Stars, 2-0, in Game 6 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final before going on their 2021 run by shutting out the Florida Panthers, 4-0, in Game 6 of Tampa’s 2021 First Round matchup, eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-0, in Game 5 in the 2021 Second Round and beating the New York Islanders and Canadiens, 1-0, in Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals and Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, respectively.

    Colton was also the fourth rookie to score a Stanley Cup clinching goal since 1927, in Wednesday night’s effort.

    The Bolts are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, having won the Cup in 2020 and 2021, as the first repeat champions since the Pittsburgh Penguins did so in 2016 and 2017.

    Tampa also did so in a span of about 10 months, since the ongoing global pandemic altered the National Hockey League’s postseason calendar for 2020, and shortened the 2020-21 league calendar to 56 games in the regular season, followed by a postseason that began in May and ended in the first week of July.

    Last year, the Lightning raised the Cup as the designated road team at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta at a neutral site as the NHL played through the COVID-19 pandemic in a bubble in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    This year, for the first time in 17 years, the Bolts raised the Cup in front of their home fans as 2004 Stanley Cup champion with Tampa, Dave Andreychuk, watched along in attendance to cap the 2020-21 Lightning’s run.

    In 2004, NHL on ESPN and NHL on ABC coverage had come to an end with the conclusion of Tampa’s Game 7 victory over the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup Final.

    The 2004-05 season-long lockout that ultimately canceled all NHL action for the year meant that ESPN could punt their broadcasting rights to the 2005-06 season or opt out altogether.

    They chose the latter.

    That’s when NBC stepped in and the NHL had games on Outdoor Life Network, then Versus, NBC Sports Network (which shortly rebranded as NBCSN), as well as on NBC.

    In 2021, NHL on NBC signed off for the final time as the league shifts its focus back to ESPN/Disney and Turner Sports for the next seven seasons in the United States starting with the 2021-22 season (the 2021 Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft and first round of the 2021 NHL Draft will be on ESPN2 this month, if you’re wondering).

    Back at Amalie Arena on Wednesday night, Vasilevskiy (16-7, 1.90 goals-against average, .937 save percentage in 23 games played) made 22 saves on 22 shots against en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs’ Most Valuable Player.

    Montréal goaltender, Carey Price (13-9, 2.28 goals-against average, .924 save percentage in 22 games) stopped 29 out of 30 shots faced in the loss.

    Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper, improved to 9-0 all time in a series when leading 2-0, while the Bolts became the first team to raise the Cup on home ice since Chicago did so in 2015.

    Pat Maroon, meanwhile, also became the first player (and fourth overall) since Ed Litzenberger to win three consecutive Cups with two different teams as Litzenberger won with Chicago in 1961, as well as Toronto from 1962-64.

    Neither Habs head coach, Dominique Ducharme, nor Cooper, made a change to their lineups for Game 5 on Wednesday.

    Alex Killorn remained out of the lineup for the Lightning for fourth game in-a-row after blocking a shot in Game 1. He told reporters after the game that he suffered a broken left fibula in Game 1 and wanted to suit up again if he could play.

    Corey Perry kicked things off in Game 5 with a hooking infraction as Perry impeded Mathieu Joseph’s play and presented the Lightning with the game’s first power play at 3:21 of the first period.

    Tampa couldn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Moments later, the Canadiens got their first chance on the power play as Jan Rutta cross checked Artturi Lehkonen at 7:19.

    Montréal’s time on the advantage was unchanged as Erik Cernak earned an interference minor and Perry was assessed an embellishment infraction almost a minute after Rutta cut a rut to the penalty box at 8:15.

    About 30 seconds after Cernak and Perry went to the sin bin, though, Josh Anderson hooked Blake Coleman and joined his teammates in Montréal’s box at 8:43 of the opening frame.

    The two teams skated at 4-on-4 for 37 seconds before Tampa had an abbreviated power play thereafter.

    Just past the midpoint of the first period, the Bolts were outshooting the Habs, 11-2, with 9:53 remaining in the opening period– reminiscent of how the Lightning outshot the Canadiens, 11-1, through the first half of the first period in Game 4.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was still tied, 0-0, despite Tampa outshooting Montréal, 13-4.

    The Bolts also held the advantage in blocked shots (3-0), takeaways (2-1) and hits (25-16), while the Habs led in faceoff win percentage (52-48) after one period.

    Both teams had three giveaways each while the Canadiens were 0/1 and the Lightning were 0/2 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    David Savard sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play and received an automatic minor 21 seconds into the second period, but the Habs couldn’t score on the resulting power play.

    Almost midway through the second frame, Mikhail Sergachev tripped up Nick Suzuki and presented the Canadiens with another power play that went by the wayside at 8:32.

    Moments later in Tampa’s attacking zone, Ryan McDonagh made a lateral pass along the blue line to Savard, who promptly crashed the slot and slid a shot pass towards the crease for Colton (4) to redirect into the twine.

    Savard (5) and McDonagh (8) had the assists on Colton’s goal as the Lightning took a, 1-0, lead at 13:27 of the second period.

    Keeping in the trend with the rest of the series– the team that scored first in each game won the game.

    Late in the period, Ben Chiarot yanked Brayden Point down on a breakaway, yielding a power play to the Bolts as a result as Chiarot was assessed with a holding infraction at 19:22.

    Though the ensuing skater advantage spanned the end of the second period and the start of the final frame of regulation, the Bolts couldn’t find a way to solve Montréal’s penalty kill.

    After 40 minutes of action at Amalie Arena on Wednesday night, the Lightning lead the Canadiens, 1-0, on the scoreboard and were outshooting the Habs, 19-14, despite Montréal holding a, 10-6, advantage in shots on goal in the second period alone.

    Tampa held the lead in blocked shots (4-3), takeaways (7-3), giveaways (10-3) and hits (44-35), while the Canadiens led in faceoff win% (54-46).

    Both teams were 0/3 on the power play heading into the final period.

    Early in the third period, Nikita Kucherov had a great chance to score, but Price stood tall and shut him down while losing his stick and making desperation saves.

    Montréal responded with a breakaway as Anderson burst into the zone with tremendous speed, was denied by Vasilevskiy and ultimately crashed back-first into the post and briefly went down the tunnel before returning for the rest of the game.

    With 1:51 remaining in the third period, Ducharme pulled Price for an extra attacker, but after a stoppage resulted in neutral zone faceoff, the Habs sent Price back into the crease for a few seconds to ensure a little security between the pipes if they lost the draw.

    Montréal won the ensuing faceoff as Price once again sprinted for the bench with 1:36 remaining, but Tampa’s defense was too much for the Canadiens– though the Lightning’s offense couldn’t put an exclamation point on the game with an empty net goal.

    The Habs used their timeout with 1:24 remaining as assistant coach, Alex Burrows, tried to rally his players for one last push.

    At the final horn, Vasilevskiy and the Bolts earned a, 1-0, shutout in Game 5 and clinched their second-straight Stanley Cup ring in as many years.

    Wednesday night marked the third time that Tampa won the Cup in franchise history.

    The Bolts also improved to 17-3 all time when scoring first in series-clinching games.

    Tampa finished Game 5 leading in shots on goal, 30-22, including an, 11-8, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Lightning dominated in just about everything else at the end of the night, leading in giveaways (11-6), hits (56-48) and faceoff win% (52-48), while both teams had nine blocked shots each.

    Montréal exited the building 0/3 on the power play, but then again, Tampa also struggled on the skater advantage in the action– going 0/3 on Wednesday night as well.

    Tampa finished the 2021 postseason 16-7 overall, while the Habs went 13-9.

  • Habs hold off elimination in overtime victory at home

    Habs hold off elimination in overtime victory at home

    For the first time since 1993, the Montréal Canadiens won a game in the Stanley Cup Final as Josh Anderson scored the game-winning goal almost four minutes into overtime to lift the Habs over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2, on Monday night at Bell Centre.

    As a result of the loss, the Lightning hold onto a 3-1 series lead with their next chance to clinch back-to-back Cups on Wednesday night in front of their home fans at Amalie Arena in Game 5.

    Carey Price (13-8, 2.34 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in 21 games played) stopped 32 out of 34 shots faced in the win for Montréal.

    Tampa goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy (15-7, 1.99 goals-against average, .935 save percentage in 22 games played), made 18 saves on 21 shots against in the loss.

    Canadiens head coach, Dominique Ducharme, replaced Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson in his lineup with Jake Evans, Alex Romanov and Brett Kulak.

    Ducharme put Romanov on the left side of Kulak on the third defensive pairing and switched up his top-nine forwards– promoting Tyler Toffoli to the left side of the first line with Phillip Danault at center and Brendan Gallagher on right wing, while Anderson was promoted to the second line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield remaining in place.

    Meanwhile, Evans took over at center on the third line with Paul Byron on his left wing and Artturi Lehkonen on his right side.

    Alex Killorn entered Monday night as a “game-time decision” according to Tampa’s head coach, Jon Cooper, and took part in warmup for the Lightning– but did not take part in any line rushes, so Cooper made no changes to his lineup from Game 3.

    Attendance at Bell Centre was once again limited by the Québec provincial government and local health administrations and officially read as 3,500 fans for Game 4 as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues around the globe.

    Past the midpoint of the opening frame, Tampa led Montréal in shots on goal, 10-1.

    Unfortunately for the Lightning’s potent offense and shutdown defense, the Canadiens’ second shot on net was a goal.

    The Bolts botched an effort to move the puck out of their own zone, while the Habs sustained pressure leading to a give-and-go for Suzuki and Caufield, whereby Suzuki then rid himself of the puck on a pass to Anderson (4) through the low slot from the trapezoid for a one-timer goal and the, 1-0, lead.

    Suzuki (9) and Caufield (7) tallied the assists on Anderson’s goal as the Canadiens struck first at 15:39 of the first period and their first at any point in the series– ending a span of 255:39 without trailing for the Lightning since Game 7 against the New York Islanders in the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals round.

    Less than a minute later, Evans and Brayden Point were off to the penalty box together as Evans was assessed an interference infraction and Point was given two-minutes for roughing at 16:33 of the first period.

    The two clubs almost got through a pair of minutes at 4-on-4 without any issue before Joel Edmundson caught Blake Coleman with a slash at 17:59, yielding a 4-on-3 advantage for Tampa for 34 seconds before the remainder of an abbreviated 5-on-4 advantage for the Lightning would commence.

    While on the ensuing power play, Point rang the post as the Bolts tried to even things up, but failed to convert on the advantage.

    At the horn, both benches converged at center ice as the players were about to go back to the dressing rooms for the first intermission, but first exchanged some pleasantries.

    Pat Maroon and Edmundson both received unsportsmanlike minors at 20:00 of the first period, which resulted in 4-on-4 action to start the middle frame.

    After one period, Montréal led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite Tampa holding a, 12-5, advantage in shots on goal.

    The Habs led in blocked shots (5-3) and giveaways (7-2), while the Bolts held the advantage in takeaways (3-1), hits (15-13) and faceoff win percentage (79-21).

    Tampa had the only skater advantage in the opening frame and went 0/1, while Montréal had yet to see time on the power play.

    The Canadiens got their first chance on the skater advantage at 5:50 of the second period as Point caught Lehkonen with a high stick and cut a rut to the sin bin as a result.

    The Habs failed to convert on the power play.

    Moments later, Corey Perry cut a rut to the box for hooking Tyler Johnson at 9:43, but once again the Lightning couldn’t muster anything on the advantage.

    Nor could the Bolts get anything going when Joel Armia tripped up Mathieu Joseph at 14:28 and presented Tampa with another power play as a result– despite Victor Hedman ringing the iron on a heavy shot.

    Late in the period, Jeff Petry failed to clear the zone on a pass that was broken up by Ryan McDonagh.

    The puck deflected off of McDonagh’s stick and sailed through the air to Coleman who worked it to McDonagh in the slot on a short pass as the Tampa defender pinched and dropped the rubber biscuit back to Barclay Goodrow (2) for the one-timer past Price while the Canadiens goaltender was out of position.

    McDonagh (7) and Coleman (8) notched the assists as the Lightning tied it, 1-1, at 17:20 of the second period.

    Entering the second intermission, the Bolts and Habs were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard despite Tampa leading in shots on net, 20-14, through 40 minutes of action.

    Montréal, however, held the advantage in shots in the second period alone, 9-8, and led in giveaways (14-7), while the Lightning led in hits (30-28) after two periods.

    Both teams had six blocked shots each, three takeaways each and split faceoff win%, 50-50, entering the final frame of regulation.

    Tampa was 0/3 and Montréal was 0/1 on the power play heading into the third frame.

    Almost midway into the final frame of regulation, Petry, Ben Chiarot, Anderson, Goodrow, Coleman and Yanni Gourde all received matching roughing minors for a scrum after the whistle at 7:42 of the third period.

    The six skaters wouldn’t come out of the box for over six minutes as there weren’t many stoppages before their penalties expired.

    About a minute after the six skaters went into the box, Romanov (1) wired a shot through traffic into the twine over Vasilevskiy’s blocker and just under the bar as Lehkonen skated by the Tampa netminder acting as a screen.

    Evans (1) had the only assist on Romanov’s goal and the Habs took a, 2-1, lead at 8:48 of the third period, while Romanov became the youngest (21 years, 180 days) Canadiens defender in franchise history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Final.

    About five minutes later, Joseph led Maroon on a rush the other way from their own blue line into the attacking zone whereby Joseph setup Maroon (2) for a shot pass redirection goal to tie the game, 2-2, at 13:47.

    Joseph (2) and Johnson (3) had the assists on Maroon’s goal.

    Moments later, Nikita Kucherov hit the post– the third time of the night that Tampa registered a shot attempt off the iron– as the Bolts almost took the lead for the first time of the night.

    Late in the period, off an attacking zone faceoff, Shea Weber caught Ondrej Palat with a stick to the face and drew some blood, yielding a four-minute double minor penalty at 18:59 of the third period.

    Tampa’s advantage would spill over into the overtime period, but like the rest of the night, the Lightning couldn’t score on the skater advantage.

    After regulation the Bolts and Habs were knotted up, 2-2, on the scoreboard despite Tampa holding the advantage in shots on goal, 30-19, including a, 10-5, advantage in the third period alone.

    Montréal held the lead in blocked shots (17-15), takeaways (7-4), giveaways (19-13) and faceoff win% (55-46), while Tampa led in hits (36-34).

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, the Lightning finished the night 0/5 on the power play, while the Canadiens went 0/1.

    Tampa nearly allowed a shorthanded goal when Hedman blew a tire along the blue line and failed to keep the puck in the attacking zone while Danault and Suzuki were off to the races and generated a one-timer on Vasilevskiy that the Lightning goaltender turned aside.

    As the Habs surged in momentum and the Bolts got off to a slow start in the extra frame, Cooper used his timeout after a stoppage with 17:33 remaining in overtime.

    Shortly thereafter, Anderson beat Jan Rutta and led a rush the other way with Caufield before the two kept hacking away at the loose puck on a rebound until Anderson (5) slipped it past Vasilevskiy on the short side.

    Caufield (8) had the only assist on the goal at 3:57.

    Montréal took Game 5, 3-2, in overtime and cut Tampa’s series lead to 3-1 as a result.

    Despite losing, the Lightning finished the night with more shots on goal– leading the Canadiens, 34-21, in that department, including a, 4-2, advantage in overtime alone.

    The Habs finished Monday night’s effort leading in blocked shots (19-16), giveaways (20-13) and faceoff win% (52-48), while Tampa exited the building leading in hits (36-35).

    The Bolts are 1-3 in their first attempts to close out a playoff series this postseason– only beating the Carolina Hurricanes on their first try in Game 5 of their Second Round matchup.

    Tampa also had two losses in overtime in games when they had a chance to finish the series, including Game 6 on Long Island against the New York Islanders.

    The Lightning are now 0-4 in overtime this postseason, while Montréal improved to 6-1 past regulation in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs– winning their first game in a Stanley Cup Final when facing elimination for the 12th time in franchise history and first since Game 7 against Chicago in the 1971 Stanley Cup Final.

    Road teams are now 50-41-3 in a Stanley Cup Final game that required overtime after Monday night’s win for the home team Canadiens.

    The most recent team to trail in the Final 3-0 to force a Game 5 was in 2014, when the New York Rangers forced the Los Angeles Kings to a Game 5 at Staples Center that the Kings ended up winning and taking home their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

    On Wednesday, the Lightning attempt to repeat Los Angeles’ success in a Game 5 on home ice as they’ll host Montréal at Amalie Arena.

    Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to NBC, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Lightning one win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions

    Lightning one win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions

    The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from sweeping the Montréal Canadiens– and winning their third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in the process– after defeating the Canadiens, 6-3, at Bell Centre on Friday night in Game 3.

    Friday night marked the first Stanley Cup Final game in Montréal since the Habs won it all in Game 5 of their series against the Los Angeles Kings on June 9, 1993.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (15-6, 1.94 goals-against average, .938 save percentage in 21 games played) made 32 saves on 35 shots against in the win for the Lightning.

    Meanwhile, Canadiens goaltender, Carey Price (12-8, 2.36 goals-against average, .921 save percentage in 20 games played) stopped 24 out of 29 shots faced in the loss.

    Jon Cooper made no changes to his lineup for the Lightning while Alex Killorn remained out of commission due to an undisclosed injury that he sustained while blocking a shot in Game 1.

    Canadiens head coach, Dominique Ducharme, was back behind the bench for the Habs after testing positive for COVID-19 in the last playoff round against the Vegas Golden Knights and self-isolating.

    Ducharme made no adjustments to his lineup, while Luke Richardson returned to his usual role as an assistant coach for Montréal after serving as their temporary leader for the last six games.

    The Québec provincial government made 3,500 seats available for Bell Centre’s seating capacity for Game 3, though it looked like more fans found a way in somehow on the television broadcast.

    Jan Rutta (2) kicked things off with a shot from the point that floated over Price’s shoulder on the blocker side into the twine– giving Tampa a, 1-0, lead at 1:52 of the first period in the process and becoming the first player in NHL history to score a goal (regular season or playoffs) in the month of July.

    Ondrej Palat (7) and Victor Hedman (16) tallied the assists on Rutta’s goal.

    About a minute later, Eric Staal sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game infraction at 2:54, yielding the night’s first power play to the Lightning in the process.

    It didn’t take the Bolts that long on the skater advantage to convert with a power-play goal from Hedman (2) as the Lightning worked the puck around the attacking zone and back to the defender wearing No. 77.

    He sent a slap shot off of Price, under the glove and into the back of the net to give Tampa a, 2-0, lead at 3:27 of the first period, while Nikita Kucherov (24) and Anthony Cirelli (7) picked up the assists.

    Hedman became the first player in league history to record at least one goal in all 12 calendar months, while Montréal used their timeout to gather their composure.

    Moments later, Blake Coleman went down awkwardly after missing Joel Edmundson on a hit attempt in open ice, but got up under his own power after a whistle and continued to play unscathed for the rest of the night.

    Shortly thereafter, Cole Caufield sniped a shot off of the left post behind Vasilevskiy– beating the Lightning goaltender on the lower right pad– but the puck came back out of the crease and away from the attacking zone.

    Midway through the first period, Phillip Danault (1) held the puck as he entered the zone and sent a shot off of Vasilevskiy that bounced off the left post and right post before finding its way into the net.

    Shea Weber (5) had the only assist on Danault’s goal at 11:16 as the Canadiens cut Tampa’s lead in half, 2-1.

    Late in the period, Mikhail Sergachev caught Artturi Lehkonen away from the puck just far enough from being considered a net front presence to yield an interference infraction at 17:29.

    The Habs were not able to muster anything on the ensuing power play– their first skater advantage of the night.

    Through 20 minutes of action, the Lightning led, 2-1, on the scoreboard, despite the Canadiens holding a, 17-12, advantage in shots on goal.

    Montréal also led in blocked shots (5-4), while Tampa led in giveaways (5-4), hits (21-19) and faceoff win percentage (52-48) entering the first intermission.

    Neither team had recorded a takeaway through one period of play, while the Bolts were 1/1 and the Habs were 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Just like how they got off to a quick start in the first period, the Lightning got off to a fast start in the second period as the Bolts caught the Habs on a poor line change with the long change playing into the end result.

    The Canadiens failed to get the puck deep while trying to change things up, which led to a 2-on-0 heading back the other way for Tampa as Palat setup Kucherov (8) for the backhand redirection goal to make it, 3-1, Lightning at 1:40 of the second period.

    Palat (8) and Erik Cernak (9) tallied the assists on Kucherov’s goal.

    Almost two minutes later, Mathieu Joseph generated a rebound off Price that bounced off of Joseph’s skate right to his teammate in Tyler Johnson as Johnson crashed the net.

    Johnson (3) got a backhand shot on the puck and fluttered the rubber biscuit past Price while the Habs goaltender reacted in desperation.

    Joseph (1) and David Savard (4) notched the assists on Johnson’s goal as the Lightning extended their lead to, 4-1, at 3:33 of the second period.

    Moments later, Cernak sent a shot off the post in the same end that Caufield rang the iron in the opening frame.

    Late in the period, Nick Suzuki (7) went end-to-end with speed and sent a shot under Vasilevskiy’s right leg pad from just inside the faceoff dot on a soft goal to cut Tampa’s lead to two-goals.

    Jeff Petry (6) and Caufield (6) had the helpers on Suzuki’s goal as the Canadiens trailed the Lightning, 4-2, on the scoreboard at 18:04 of the second period.

    Tampa entered the second intermission leading, 4-2, despite trailing in shots on goal to the Habs, 25-21. The Bolts held the advantage in shots on net in the second period alone, however, as they outshot Montréal, 9-8, in the middle frame.

    The Canadiens led in giveaways (15-9), while Tampa dominated in everything else– leading in blocked shots (11-8), takeaways (1-0), hits (36-33) and faceoff win% (54-46) after 40 minutes of action on Friday.

    As there were no penalties called in the second period, the Habs remained 0/1 on the power play, while the Bolts were 1/1 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

    There were no penalties called in the final frame and the action picked up late in the period as Johnson (4) scored on another rebound while crashing the net– shoveling the puck into the twine on Price’s blocker side to make it, 5-2, for the Lightning at 15:19 of the third period.

    Johnson’s second goal of the game was unassisted.

    With 4:12 remaining in the game, Ducharme pulled Price for an extra attacker and the Habs went to work on cutting into Tampa’s lead.

    Corey Perry (4) patiently carried the puck from the corner in the attacking zone to between the goal line and inside the faceoff dot, where he wired a shot over Vasilevskiy’s shoulder on the short side under the bar to bring the Canadiens to within two goals.

    Brendan Gallagher (4) and Ben Chiarot (1) had the assists on Perry’s 45th career postseason goal as the Lightning led, 5-3, at 15:58 of the third period.

    Once more, Price vacated the net for an extra attacker, but this time Tampa took full advantage of the open frame in the crease as Barclay Goodrow forced Caufield to turn the puck over off of Petry’s skate whereby Coleman (3) scooped up the loose puck and buried it for an empty net goal.

    Goodrow (4) had the only assist on Coleman’s goal as the Bolts pulled ahead, 6-3, and sealed the deal on their Game 3 victory at 16:48 of the third period.

    At the final horn, the Lightning had taken a 3-0 series lead with a, 6-3, victory despite trailing in shots on goal, 35-30, including a, 10-9, advantage in the third period alone for the Canadiens.

    Montréal wrapped up Friday night’s action leading in giveaways (26-15), while Tampa held the advantage in blocked shots (13-11), hits (46-38) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Each team had one opportunity on the power play on Friday with the Lightning going 1/1 and the Canadiens finishing 0/1 on the skater advantage.

    The Bolts became the fourth team in the Expansion Era (since 1967-68) to win the first three games in a Stanley Cup Final without trailing, joining the 2012 Los Angeles Kings and the 1977, as well as 1969 Canadiens in doing so.

    Los Angeles went on to eliminate the New Jersey Devils in six games in 2012, to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, while Montréal swept the Boston Bruins in the 1977 Stanley Cup Final and the St. Louis Blues in 1969.

    Tampa can become the first team to sweep their opponent in the Final since the Detroit Red Wings swept the Washington Capitals in 1998.

    The Lightning can win their third Stanley Cup ring in Game 4 on Monday night at Bell Centre in Montréal as the Canadiens look to avoid being eliminated on home ice.

    Puck drop is expected to be a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to NBC for the action, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS for coverage.

  • Lightning yield commanding 2-0 series lead in, 3-1, victory

    Lightning yield commanding 2-0 series lead in, 3-1, victory

    Though they were outshot, 43-23, on the night, Blake Coleman’s eventual game-winning goal with only seconds to spare in the second period and Ondrej Palat’s insurance marker thereafter in the third period were enough to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a, 3-1, win over the Montréal Canadiens on Wednesday.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (14-6, 1.89 goals-against average, .939 save percentage in 20 games played) made 42 saves on 43 shots against in the Game 2 victory for the Lightning as the Bolts took a 2-0 series lead in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final in front of their home fans at Amalie Arena.

    Canadiens goaltender, Carey Price (12-7, 2.23 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in 19 games played), stopped 20 out of 23 shots faced in the loss.

    Joel Armia returned to the lineup for Montréal on the Canadiens’ fourth line alongside Eric Staal and Corey Perry after missing Game 1. Armia was cleared from COVID protocol on Monday and flew in a private jet to Tampa and was not quite ready to go ahead of the, 5-1, loss in Game 1.

    That was the only change to the lineup for Luke Richardson as Richardson remained at the reigns of the Habs on Wednesday.

    Canadiens head coach, Dominique Ducharme, is expected to return behind the bench on Friday in time for Game 3 at Bell Centre in Montréal, where Ducharme has been isolating since testing positive for COVID-19 last month.

    At the other end of the rink, Alex Killorn missed Game 2 after blocking a shot in Game 1 and playing in limited ice time thereafter. Tyler Johnson was promoted to Tampa’s second line, while Jon Cooper inserted Mathieu Joseph on the Lightning’s fourth line as a result.

    The Bolts hosted 18,600 fans in attendance on Wednesday, which was up from Monday night’s capacity limit of 16,300.

    The Québec provincial government informed the Canadiens on Wednesday night that Bell Centre would be limited to 3,500 fans for Game 3 on Friday– despite the large crowd that is sure to gather outside the arena anyway during the game.

    Habs defender, Jeff Petry, tripped Brayden Point and presented the Lightning with the night’s first power play at 5:29 of the first period.

    Tampa wasn’t able to convert on the skater advantage, however.

    The Bolts had another unsuccessful power play moments later when Paul Byron cut a rut to the penalty box for catching Steven Stamkos with a slash at 9:57.

    Once more, however, Tampa couldn’t score on the advantage.

    Byron later returned to the sin bin for slashing once more at 17:27 of the first period, only this time he took Lightning defender, Erik Cernak, with him as Cernak was assessed a retaliatory cross checking infraction.

    Meanwhile, Ryan McDonagh had caught Phillip Danault with a high stick and drew blood, yielding a four-minute double minor penalty at the same time.

    As a result, Montréal went on a 4-on-3 power play for a pair of minutes before the Canadiens had a run-of-the-mill 5-on-4 skater advantage for the remainder of McDonagh’s minor (which would spill into the middle frame).

    Neither team found the back of the net prior to the first horn of the night to signal the start of the first intermission.

    The score remained, 0-0, despite the Canadiens leading in shots on goal, 13-6.

    The Habs led in blocked shots (8-1), hits (14-11) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while the Bolts held the advantage in takeaways (5-1) and giveaways (3-1).

    Both teams went 0/2 on the power play through one period on Wednesday.

    Tampa was the first to get on the scoreboard as Johnson worked the puck back to Anthony Cirelli at the point whereby Cirelli (5) sent a floating shot from almost downtown through traffic off of Price’s blocker and under the Canadiens’ goaltender’s arm into the twine.

    Johnson (2) and Jan Rutta (1) tallied the assists on Cirelli’s goal as the Lightning pulled ahead, 1-0, at 6:40 of the second period.

    Cirelli’s goal was just the second shot on net for the Bolts in a span of almost 16 minutes.

    Moments later, Mikhail Sergachev was penalized for interference at 10:03 and presented the Canadiens with another power play.

    This time, Montréal made quick work of the skater advantage– in part, due to a couple lucky bounces.

    Nick Suzuki (6) flipped a backhand shot towards the net as the puck bounced off the ice, caught McDonagh’s stick, changed direction and slipped through Vasilevskiy’s five-hole as Perry acted as a screen in front of the Tampa netminder.

    Suzuki’s power-play goal was unassisted and tied the game, 1-1, at 10:36 of the second period.

    Late in the period, Armia caught Coleman with a high stick at 16:38 and presented the Lightning with another power play.

    Though Tampa wouldn’t score on the skater advantage, they would catch the Canadiens in the vulnerable minute after special teams action as the Habs turned the puck over in the neutral zone.

    Barclay Goodrow chipped the rubber biscuit to himself around Ben Chiarot and entered the attacking zone on a rush with Coleman.

    Goodrow then sent a backhand pass to Coleman (2) for the one-timed swing while diving to reach the puck– connecting on the mid-air rubber and scoring in the process to give the Lightning a, 2-1, lead at 19:58 of the second period.

    It was the first goal for Coleman in 19 games as Goodrow (3) and McDonagh (6) picked up the assists and the Bolts entered the second intermission with the lead on the scoreboard.

    Through 40 minutes, Tampa led, 2-1, despite trailing in shots on goal, 29-13. Montréal held a, 16-7, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The Habs also led in blocked shots (9-6) and faceoff win% (54-46), while the Lightning led in takeaways (9-4), giveaways (4-1) and hits (28-24).

    The Canadiens were 1/3 on the power play and the Bolts were 0/3 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Joel Edmundson sent a reverse pass off the boards behind his own net intended for Petry, but Palat (5) intercepted the puck and banked it off of Price into the back of the net as the Canadiens defenders miscommunication proved costly at 15:42 of the third period.

    Palat’s unassisted goal gave the Lightning a, 3-1, lead and secured the victory as such.

    Moments later, Montréal pulled Price for an extra skater with about two minutes remaining in the game and used their timeout after a stoppage with 46.7 seconds to go, but it was to no avail.

    At the final horn, Tampa had won, 3-1, and taken a 2-0 series lead as a result.

    The two teams exchanged further pleasantries, yielding a cross checking minor and a misconduct for Cirelli at 20:00 of the third period, as well as a roughing minor and a misconduct for Perry at the same time.

    Montréal finished the night leading in shots on goal, 43-23, including a, 14-10, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Habs exited the building leading in faceoff win% (53-47), while the Bolts wrapped up Wednesday night leading in blocked shots (14-10), giveaways (6-2) and hits (40-36).

    Despite each team receiving a couple infractions to finish off the night, the Canadiens finished 1/3 and the Lightning went 0/3 on the power play in Game 2.

    For the first time in four Stanley Cup Final appearances, Tampa had a 2-0 series lead and didn’t split the series 1-1 through Games 1 and 2.

    Another interesting stat from the night relates to the fact that the Habs fell to 10-4 this postseason when not giving up a goal in the first period. They dominated in shots on goal and have been the best at comebacks this postseason and yet…

    Just not enough on Wednesday, apparently.

    The series shifts to Bell Centre in Montréal on Friday night where the Lightning look to go up 3-0 in the series, while the Canadiens look to win Game 3 and cut Tampa’s series lead to 2-1.

    Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the action on NBC, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Lightning rout Canadiens in Game 1 victory at home

    Lightning rout Canadiens in Game 1 victory at home

    Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of goals as the Tampa Bay Lightning cruised to a, 5-1, victory over the Montréal Canadiens Monday night at Amalie Arena in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (13-6, 1.94 goals-against average, .936 save percentage in 19 games) made 18 saves on 19 shots against in the win as the Lightning jumped out to a 1-0 series lead in the Final.

    Habs netminder, Carey Price (12-6, 2.18 goals-against average, .928 save percentage in 18 games played), stopped 22 out of 27 shots faced in the loss.

    Jake Evans returned to the lineup for the Canadiens for the first time since sustaining a concussion on a charge from Mark Scheifele in Game 1 of Montréal’s Second Round series against the Winnipeg Jets.

    Evans missed the last nine games for the Habs.

    Meanwhile, Joel Armia was cleared from COVID protocol on Monday, flew in a private jet to Tampa and participated in warmup, but was not ready to go as a game-time decision.

    Canadiens head coach, Dominique Ducharme, will return to his regular role behind the bench in Montréal for Game 3, since testing positive for COVID-19 on June 18th and self-isolating.

    In accordance with Canadian regulations, Ducharme will did not travel to the United States for Games 1 and 2 in Tampa, so he won’t have to quarantine for another 14 days when the series shifts to Montréal for Games 3 and 4.

    Luke Richardson remains in command for the Habs until Bell Centre hosts its first Stanley Cup Final game.

    16,300 fans filled Amalie Arena on Monday night as Tampa continues to loosen indoor COVID-19 restrictions in attendance in accordance with the NHL’s protocols. It was the largest crowd for a Lightning game since last season.

    Bolts head coach, Jon Cooper, rolled out Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Kucherov on his first line, while completing his top-six forward group with Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos on the second line.

    Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman comprised Tampa’s third line, while Pat Maroon, Tyler Johnson and Ross Colton carried the fourth line.

    On defense, Cooper paired Victor Hedman with Jan Rutta as he’s done all postseason, while Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak served as his second pairing and Mikhail Sergachev was partnered with David Savard on the third defensive pair.

    Richardson countered with Artturi Lehkonen, Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher on his first line, while Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield rounded out Montréal’s top-six forward group.

    Paul Byron, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Josh Anderson skated together on the third line, while Evans, Eric Staal and Corey Perry slotted in on the fourth line.

    On defense, Ben Chiarot suited up alongside Shea Weber, Joel Edmundson was paired with Jeff Petry and Erik Gustafsson skated with Jon Merrill on the third defensive pair for the Habs.

    Cernak (1) opened the series’ scoring with a shot pass redirection goal over Price’s glove to give the Lightning a, 1-0, lead at 6:19 of the first period.

    Palat (6) and Point (7) tallied the assists on Cernak’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in his 46th career postseason game.

    Late in the period, Goodrow cross checked Gallagher and presented the Canadiens with the first power play of the series at 15:21 of the first period.

    Montréal didn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however, as the Lightning remained in command on the scoreboard.

    Tampa got a power play at 19:14 after Chiarot roughed up Kucherov, but the Bolts couldn’t muster anything on the power play despite the split ends of the advantage over the remaining time in the first period and a little more than the opening minute of the middle frame.

    After one period, the Lightning led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 7-5.

    Tampa also held the advantage in takeaways (3-2), while Montréal led in giveaways (3-1), hits (26-19) and faceoff win percentage (56-44).

    Both teams managed to have three blocked shots each and were 0/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

    Chiarot sent a shot attempt at the goal frame that deflected off of something and caught the iron to the right of Vasilevskiy’s leg pad, but the Bolts remained in command uninterrupted.

    Moments later, Gallagher turned the puck over in Montréal’s attacking zone, leading to a rush for the Lightning heading back the other way, whereby Goodrow sent a shot that was blocked before Coleman pounced on the loose puck and threw a shot towards the net.

    Coleman’s shot went through Merrill and caught a piece of Gourde (6) as he stood in front of the crease acting as a screen before the rubber biscuit had eyes and made its way through Price’s five-hole to give Tampa a, 2-0, lead.

    Coleman (7) and Goodrow (2) notched the assists on the goal as the Bolts took a two-goal lead at 5:47 of the second period.

    Late in the middle frame, Chiarot played a little pinball after Tampa turned it over and the Habs worked the puck around the attacking zone.

    Chiarot (1) unloaded on a slap shot that deflected off of Cirelli, then McDonagh and slipped behind Vasilevskiy to cut Tampa’s lead in half, 2-1, on the scoreboard at 17:40.

    Kotkaniemi (3) and Weber (4) were credited with the helpers on Chiarot’s first goal of the 2021 postseason for the Canadiens.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Lightning led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 19-14, in shots on goal, including a, 12-9, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    Tampa also held the advantage in blocked shots (8-5), takeaways (7-2), giveaways (7-3) and faceoff win% (51-49), while Montréal led in hits (44-41).

    As there were no penalties called in the second period, both teams remained 0/1 on the power play heading into the second intermission.

    Kucherov (6) threw the puck into the slot early in the final frame and Chiarot smacked it out of the air with his glove, but somehow the puck managed to float over Price’s glove and under the bar to give the Lightning a, 3-1, lead at 2:00 of the third period.

    Sergachev (3) had the only assist on Kucherov’s first goal of the night.

    Minutes later, Staal and Cernak exchanged pleasantries after a stoppage and received roughing minors at 6:30, resulting in a pair of minutes of 4-on-4 action.

    Midway through the third period, Kucherov (7) received a pass from Point on an attacking zone faceoff win and sent a laser of a shot past Price high on the glove side to extend Tampa’s lead to three-goals.

    Point (8) had the only assist on Kucherov’s second goal of the game as the Bolts made it, 4-1, at 11:25 of the third period.

    About a couple minutes later, Coleman took off Gallagher’s helmet after Price froze the puck in Montréal’s own zone and slammed Gallagher into the ice face first, resulting in a bit of a bloody gash on Gallagher’s forehead and yielding a power play to the Canadiens as a result.

    Coleman cut a rut to the box for roughing at 13:42, but the Habs weren’t able to score on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Shortly after killing off Coleman’s minor infraction, the Bolts went on the power play as Kotkaniemi retaliated with a high stick on Cernak at 15:51.

    Edmundson joined Kotkaniemi in the box late in the resulting power play for roughing Gourde at 17:20, yielding a 5-on-3 advantage to the Lightning as a result, whereby Cooper sent out five forwards to make the Habs pay on the scoreboard.

    About 90 seconds later, Tampa struck on the power play when Stamkos (8) blasted a one-timer from his usual spot in the faceoff dot to beat Price on the short side.

    Kucherov (23) and Point (9) tallied the assists on Stamkos’ power-play goal and the Lightning extended their lead, 5-1, at 18:50 of the third period.

    At the final horn, Tampa had taken a 1-0 series lead with a, 5-1, victory over Montréal in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

    The Bolts finished Monday night’s effort leading in shots on goal, 27-19, including an, 8-5, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Lightning also wrapped up Game 1 leading in blocked shots (15-5) and giveaways (9-3), while the Canadiens finished the night leading in hits (58-57).

    Faceoff win% was split evenly, 50-50, while the Habs went 0/2 and the Bolts went 1/3 on the power play.

    Tampa has a chance to take a 2-0 series lead and Montréal’s got a chance to even the series 1-1 on Wednesday night in Game 2 from Amalie Arena.

    Puck drop is set for a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to NBCSN for coverage, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Bolts can eliminate Panthers in Game 5 with 3-1 series lead after, 6-2, win in Game 4

    Bolts can eliminate Panthers in Game 5 with 3-1 series lead after, 6-2, win in Game 4

    The Tampa Bay Lightning had an efficient day in the office, scoring six goals on 26 shots to beat the Florida Panthers, 6-2, in Game 4 of their 2021 First Round matchup at Amalie Arena on Saturday afternoon.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (3-1, 3.18 goals-against average, .919 save percentage in four games played) made 39 saves on 41 shots against in the win for the Lightning as he and his Bolts teammates grabbed a 3-1 series lead over Florida with the chance to eliminate the Panthers on the road in Game 5.

    Panthers goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky (1-2, 5.36 goals-against average, .841 save percentage in three games played) made nine saves on 14 shots faced before he was replaced by Chris Driedger after allowing five goals in 27:15 time on ice.

    Driedger (0-1, 3.72 goals-against average, .871 save percentage in three games played) stopped 11 out of 12 shots against for no decision in relief for Florida.

    Game 4 was pretty much the opposite of Game 3 in net for the Panthers as Bobrovsky earned the start after relieving Driedger in a, 6-5, comeback win in overtime on Thursday night– only this time Driedger replaced Bobrovsky and Florida dropped Saturday’s effort, 6-2.

    Yanni Gourde and Jonathan Huberdeau exchanged pleasantries as the intrastate rivals picked up right where they left off all series long and received roughing minors at 2:23 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later– in the ensuing 4-on-4 action– Alex Killorn worked the puck up to Anthony Cirelli through the neutral zone, leading Cirelli into the attacking zone on a breakaway whereby Cirelli (2) beat Bobrovsky five-hole to give the Lightning a, 1-0, lead.

    Killorn (3) and Erik Cernak (1) had the assists as Tampa struck first at 3:00 of the opening frame.

    Minutes later, Mikhail Sergachev passed the puck along the point to Nikita Kucherov who sent a shot towards the net that Gourde (2) tipped past Bobrovsky to extend Tampa’s lead to two-goals.

    Kucherov (4) and Sergachev (1) tallied the assists on Gourde’s goal and the Bolts pulled ahead, 2-0, at 7:24.

    About half-a-minute later, Gourde received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and presented the Panthers with their first power play of the afternoon at 7:55.

    It didn’t take Florida long to capitalize on the skater advantage as Aleksander Barkov sent a pass to Sam Bennett, who fired the puck off of Patric Hornqvist as Hornqvist stood in front of Vasilevskiy acting as a screen.

    The puck bounced off Hornqvist to Huberdeau (2) who beat Vasilevskiy to the rubber biscuit and buried it into the twine as the Lightning goaltender dove across the crease in desperation.

    Hornqvist (2) and Bennett (3) had the assists on Huberdeau’s power-play goal as the Panthers cut Tampa’s lead in half, 2-1, at 8:49.

    Late in the period, Cernak fired a slap shot from the point that Ondrej Palat (2) deflected past Bobrovsky to make it a, 3-1, lead for the Bolts at 16:45 of the first period.

    After 20 minutes of action, the Lightning led, 3-1, on the scoreboard, despite Florida leading in shots on goal, 15-7.

    Tampa held the advantage in blocked shots (4-2), takeaways (4-0), giveaways (1-0), hits (18-15) and faceoff win percentage (53-47).

    The Panthers were 1/1 on the power play and the Lightning had yet to see the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Anthony Duclair was sent to the box for holding at 4:27 of the second period, yielding a power play to Tampa for the first time Saturday afternoon as a result.

    It didn’t take the Bolts long to strike on the skater advantage as Kucherov sent a shot pass to Killorn (2) for the doorstep redirection as the Lightning extended their lead, 4-1, at 5:41.

    Kucherov (6) and Victor Hedman (7) had the assists on Killorn’s power-play goal as the Lightning continued their offensive onslaught on the scoreboard with their sixth power-play goal of the series.

    Less than two minutes later, Killorn (3) tallied his second goal of the afternoon as Cirelli chipped the puck into the attacking zone before Steven Stamkos dished a pass to Killorn for the goal.

    Stamkos (3) and Cirelli (2) notched the assists on Killorn’s second goal of the game as the Bolts pulled ahead, 5-1, at 7:15 of the second period.

    After giving up five goals before the midpoint of the afternoon, Panthers head coach, Joel Quenneville, replaced Bobrovsky with Driedger to try to light a spark under his players.

    Pat Maroon boarded Frank Vatrano about a minute later and presented Florida with another power play at 8:23 of the middle frame.

    The Panthers weren’t on the skater advantage for that long as Carter Verhaeghe checked Cirelli away from the puck and was assessed an interference minor at 8:37.

    Florida went back on the advantage as Cernak was penalized for roughing at 8:56, yielding a rare 4-on-3 power play to the Panthers for a 1:28 span.

    Minutes later, Ryan Lomberg was checked from behind into Vasilevskiy and proceeded to antagonize Tampa in the crease after the whistle.

    Lomberg and Sergachev each received roughing minors at 13:41 and plunged the game into two minutes of 4-on-4 action before Hedman hooked Verhaeghe at 15:36 and presented Florida with five seconds of another 4-on-3 advantage before an abbreviated regular 5-on-4 power play.

    Late in the period, Sergachev caught Vatrano with a high stick at 17:45 and the Panthers went back on the power play.

    This time Florida capitalized on the skater advantage as Verhaeghe (2) received a pass, pulled the puck to his backhand and elevated the rubber biscuit over Vasilevskiy and under the bar.

    Barkov (4) and Huberdeau (6) had the assists on Verhaeghe’s power-play goal as the Panthers trailed, 5-2, at 18:45 of the second period.

    Less than a minute later, Kucherov ran into Driedger and received a minor infraction for goaltender interference at 19:27, providing Florida with a power play that would extend into the final frame.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Tampa led, 5-2, on the scoreboard despite trailing the Panthers, 34-18, in shots on goal. Florida held a, 19-11, advantage in shots on goal in the second period alone.

    The Bolts continued to dominated in just about everything else, however, leading in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (5-2), giveaways (2-1) and hits (28-26), while the Panthers led in faceoff win% (51-49).

    Florida was 2/6 and Tampa was 1/1 on the power play heading into the final period.

    Radko Gudas elbowed Ross Colton early in the third period and the Lighting went on the power play at 4:00 of the final frame.

    Tampa made quick work of the skater advantage as they tallied another power-play goal– this time from Kucherov (3) on a one-timer– to make it, 6-2, for the Bolts.

    Stamkos (4) and Killorn (4) had the assists on Kucherov’s power-play goal at 4:47 of the third period.

    There were no more goals for the rest of Saturday afternoon’s action at Amalie Arena, but both clubs traded power play opportunities and dealt heavy blows that could affect the lineups for Game 5 on Monday.

    Jan Rutta cross checked Owen Tippett at 8:23, so Florida pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker with nothing else left to lose on the ensuing power play.

    Then Cernak got slashed and took a minute to get back on his skaters as Hornqvist was the offender and sent to the sin bin at 9:58, yielding 25 seconds of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play for the Lightning.

    Minutes later, Duclair gave Kucherov a quick slash behind the knee, leaving Kucherov injured on the ice, clutching his left leg before skating off on his own, without putting much weight on his knee.

    Duclair was assessed a minor for slashing at 10:57 and the Lightning had a 5-on-3 advantage for a little less than a minute as a result.

    Hornqvist later hit Sergachev shoulder-to-shoulder and sent the Bolts defender flying face first into the boards, leaving Sergachev hurting a bit.

    Seconds later, Maroon and Hornqvist each received misconducts and had their nights come to an end at 16:24 of the third period.

    Late in the game, Lomberg received a roughing minor at 17:05, as the Lightning wrapped things up with one more power play for the afternoon.

    At the final horn, Tampa had won, 6-2, despite finishing Saturday’s action trailing in shots on goal, 41-26. The Lightning had actually led in shots on goal in the third period alone, 8-7.

    The Bolts had the advantage in blocked shots (12-6), while Florida finished the day’s effort leading in giveaways (3-2), hits (37-33) and faceoff win% (55-45).

    The Panthers went 2/7 and the Lightning went 2/4 on the power play in Saturday’s effort.

    Tampa takes a 3-1 series lead heading back to Sunrise, Florida where the Panthers face elimination on home ice in Game 5 on Monday.

    Puck drop from BB&T Center is set for a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune in to national coverage on CNBC, while those in Canada can catch the action on FX-CA or TVAS.

  • Panthers complete, 6-5, OT comeback in Game 3 win on the road

    Panthers complete, 6-5, OT comeback in Game 3 win on the road

    Ryan Lomberg emerged as an unlikely protagonist– scoring the game-winning goal early in overtime at Amalie Arena on Thursday– while Sergei Bobrovsky looked solid in relief of Chris Driedger as the Florida Panthers staged a third period comeback capped by a, 6-5, overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their 2021 First Round series.

    Bobrovsky (1-1, 3.53 goals-against average, .898 save percentage in two games played) stopped all nine shots that he faced in relief (25:56 time on ice) en route to the victory for the Panthers.

    Meanwhile, Driedger (0-1, 4.29 goals-against average, .860 save percentage in two games played) stopped 17 out of 22 shots faced for no decision in 40:00 time on ice.

    Lightning goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy (2-1, 3.57 goals-against average, .908 save percentage in three games played), made 41 saves on 47 shots against in the loss.

    Keith Yandle was a healthy scratch for Florida and Sam Bennett returned from his one game suspension for a hit from behind on Blake Coleman in Game 1.

    Bennett (1) sent a one-timed redirection on the backhand past Vasilevskiy to give Florida an early, 1-0, lead at 4:31 of the first period.

    Jonathan Huberdeau (3) and Owen Tippett (2) tallied the assists as the Panthers jumped on the scoreboard first while on the road.

    Less than a few minutes later, Radko Gudas (1) stayed on the puck after his initial shot was blocked and wired the rubber biscuit past Vasilevskiy’s glove side to give the Panthers a two-goal lead.

    Gustav Forsling (1) and Huberdeau (4) had the assists on Gudas’ first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal and Florida led, 2-0, at 7:05 of the opening frame.

    There were no penalties in the first period, so after 20 minutes of action, the Panthers led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 12-10, in shots on goal entering the first intermission.

    Florida also held the advantage in blocked shots (4-3), while Tampa led in takeaways (4-0), giveaways (3-1), hits (20-15) and faceoff win percentage (58-42).

    Anthony Cirelli (1) buried a rebound from point blank to cut Florida’s lead in half, 2-1, and put the Lightning on the scoreboard as Victor Hedman (4) and Alex Killorn (2) tabbed the assists on Cirelli’s goal at 1:57 of the second period.

    Moments later, Ross Colton (1) won a battle in the attacking zone and sent a shot over Driedger’s glove with Yanni Gourde acting as a screen on the doorstep for his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

    Coleman (1) had the only assist on Colton’s goal as the Bolts tied the game, 2-2, at 5:46 of the middle frame.

    Tampa took control of the game (at least for the time being) with their third unanswered goal in a span of 6:41 as Steven Stamkos (2) sent a redirection from the low slot past Driedger after Ryan McDonagh snagged a turnover and entered the zone, setting up Stamkos with the primary assist on the goal– his third helper of the postseason.

    Stamkos’ goal at 8:38 put the Bolts ahead, 3-2.

    Tampa defender, Jan Rutta, presented Florida with the night’s first power play after interfering with Forsling away from the puck, but the Panthers couldn’t muster anything on the resulting skater advantage at 10:38.

    Coleman and Bennett tangled up with one another and each received roughing minors at 11:17, but the number of skaters on the ice was unaffected.

    Late in the Panthers’ power play, Alex Wennberg (1) sent a shot off of Hedman that squeaked past Vasilevskiy’s glove side to even things up, 3-3, at 12:34.

    MacKenzie Weegar (1) and Tippett (3) tallied the assists on Wennberg’s goal, but the action didn’t remain tied for long.

    Mason Marchment hooked Stamkos at 13:46 and presented the Lightning with their first power play of the night.

    The Bolts capitalized on the resulting skater advantage as Brayden Point (3) let go of a one-timer off the iron and in from the bumper to make it.

    Nikita Kucherov (3) and Hedman (5) had the assists on Point’s power-play goal and Tampa pulled ahead, 4-3, at 14:17 of the second period.

    Almost two-and-a-half minutes later, Gudas hooked Ondrej Palat and presented the Lightning with another power play at 16:48.

    Once again, late in the ensuing skater advantage the Bolts pocketed a power-play goal as Killorn (1) caught a pass from Hedman and slid the rubber biscuit underneath Driedger’s paddle to make it, 5-3, Tampa at 18:17.

    After two periods of action in Tampa, the Lightning led, 5-3, on the scoreboard, despite the Panthers outshooting the Bolts, 29-22, including a, 17-12, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Lightning held the lead in blocked shots (9-8), takeaways (5-3) and faceoff win% (58-42), while Florida led in hits (36-28).

    Both teams had four giveaways each, while the Panthers were 1/1 and the Bolts were 2/2 on the power play entering the second intermission.

    Panthers head coach, Joel Quenneville, replaced Driedger with Bobrovsky for the third period as Driedger allowed five goals on 22 shots.

    Needless to say, while Bobrovsky stopped all nine shots that he would face in the remainder of the night’s action– Florida’s defense tightened up and suppressed the Lightning’s attack.

    Palat boarded Marchment 41 seconds into the third period and the Panthers went on the power play early in the final frame of regulation as a result.

    It didn’t take long for Huberdeau to get a shot towards the net that Patric Hornqvist (1) unintentionally redirected with his skate to bring Florida within one.

    Huberdeau (5) and Aleksander Barkov (3) had the assists on Hornqvist’s power-play goal as the Panthers trailed, 5-4, at 1:45 of the third period.

    Late in the period, Hedman turned the puck over to the point, whereby Hornqvist dished it to Wennberg, then Forsling (1) who threw it through Vailevskiy’s five-hole for his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal– tying the game, 5-5, in the process.

    Wennberg (1) and Hornqvist (1) notched the assists on Forsling’s goal at 16:53 of the third period.

    Despite their surge in momentum, Florida had to kill off a minor infraction for cross checking when Anthony Duclair got tangled up with Killorn at 19:37.

    Tampa’s power play would carry over into the extra frame, but ultimately was powerless as the Panthers killed it off.

    Through 60 minutes of action at Amalie Arena on Thursday, the Panthers and Lightning were tied, 5-5, on the scoreboard, despite Florida leading in shots on goal, 43-28, including a, 14-6, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Panthers led a complete shutdown of Tampa’s potent offense in the final 20-minutes and then some.

    The Bolts still led in blocked shots (14-8), takeaways (7-5) and faceoff win% (52-48), while Florida held the advantage in hits (46-38).

    Both teams managed four giveaways each heading into overtime.

    As there were no penalties called in the extra period, Florida finished 2/2 and Tampa went 2/3 on the power play in Game 3.

    Early in the extra frame, Florida won a faceoff in their own zone and worked the puck from Gudas to Frank Vatrano, then hit up Lomberg as he broke through Tampa’s defense and emerged with a quick breakaway as he was running out of runway.

    Lomberg (1) shot the puck through Vasilevskiy– under the Tampa netminder’s glove– and into the back of the twine for his first career postseason goal and the game-winner in overtime.

    Vatrano (1) and Gudas (1) earned the assists on Lomberg’s game-winner at 5:56 of the overtime period as the Panthers won, 6-5.

    Florida cut Tampa’s series lead in half, 2-1, as a result as Lomberg– who scored two goals in 34 games with the Panthers in regular season– earned First Star honors for the night.

    The Panthers finished Thursday night leading in shots on goal, 47-31, including a, 4-3, advantage in the overtime period alone.

    Tampa finished the action leading in blocked shots (16-9), giveaways (5-4) and faceoff win% (52-48), while Florida wrapped things up with the lead in hits (46-40).

    The Lightning have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead on home ice in Game 4 at Amalie Arena on Saturday.

    Puck drop is expected to be a little after 12:30 p.m. ET and viewers looking for national coverage in the United States can tune to CNBC, while those in Canada can catch the action on SN or TVAS2.

  • Point strikes twice as Lightning beat Panthers, 5-4, in Game 1

    Point strikes twice as Lightning beat Panthers, 5-4, in Game 1

    Brayden Point had a pair of goals to tie, then win the game for the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4, over the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center in Game 1 of their 2021 First Round matchup on Sunday.

    The Bolts stole a game on the road and took a 1-0 series lead as a result.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (1-0, 4.07 goals-against average, .897 save percentage in one game played) made 35 saves on 39 shots against in Sunday night’s barnburner victory for Tampa.

    Meanwhile, Florida netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky (0-1, 5.08 goals-against average, .875 save percentage in one game played), stopped 35 out of 40 shots faced in the loss.

    The Panthers and Lightning are meeting for the first time in a postseason series as the two clubs had never met before in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, despite being located in the same state (let alone the same division).

    Florida enters the 2021 First Round having made their 7th postseason appearance in franchise history. The Panthers haven’t won a playoff series since 1996.

    Meanwhile, Tampa is making their 13th appearance in the playoffs having won their 2nd Stanley Cup title in 2020.

    Bolts captain, Steven Stamkos, and Lightning forward, Nikita Kucherov, were back from injury in time for Game 1 as Stamkos finished the regular season on injured reserve and Kucherov spent the entire 2020-21 season on long term injured reserve recovering from hip surgery.

    Or salary cap circumvention, if that’s your thing.

    Early in the action, Kucherov and MacKenzie Weegar tangled with one another, resulting in roughing minors for each player at 3:15 of the first period and a pair of minutes at 4-on-4.

    Almost midway into the opening frame, Alex Killorn caught Jonathan Huberdeau with a slash and presented the Panthers with the night’s first power play at 7:18.

    Florida thought they grabbed the game’s first lead when Sam Bennett poked the puck through Vasilevskiy from the doorstep, but the on ice officials immediately ruled Bennett’s actions as incidental goaltender interference– therefore negating the goal that the Panthers thought they had scored.

    Less than a minute later, Blake Coleman (1) went on a shorthanded breakaway and slipped a backhand shot past Bobrovsky to give the Lightning a, 1-0, lead at 7:42 of the first period.

    Yanni Gourde (1) and Ryan McDonagh (1) had the assists on Coleman’s shorthanded goal.

    Less than a couple of minutes later, McDonagh cut a rut to the penalty box for boarding after the Bolts defender hit Panthers forward, Anthony Duclair, from behind at 9:04.

    This time Florida made sure to capitalize on the ensuing skater advantage as Aleksander Barkov won a faceoff back to the point whereby Keith Yandle slid a pass to Huberdeau before Huberdeau then setup Barkov (1) with a pass through the slot for a one-timer goal.

    Huberdeau (1) and Yandle (1) had the assists on Barkov’s power-play goal and the Panthers tied things up, 1-1, at 9:41.

    Late in the period, Barkov and Jan Rutta got into a shoving match and received roughing minors at 14:09, yielding two minutes worth of 4-on-4 action.

    Shortly after both squads received their skater back and resumed 5-on-5 action, the Panthers pulled ahead, 2-1, thanks to a one-timer from the point by former Bolt turned current Florida forward, Carter Verhaeghe (1).

    Barkov (1) and Yandle (2) had the assists on Verhaeghe’s goal as the lead changed for the first time of the night at 16:31 of the first period.

    In the aftermath of the goal celebration, Coleman slashed Frank Vatrano– who received a minor penalty of his own for embellishment.

    There was more 4-on-4 action, as a result, to finish off the opening frame.

    Entering the first intermission, the Panthers led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and dominated in shots on goal, 18-10.

    Florida also held the advantage in blocked shots (7-4), giveaways (3-2) and hits (26-11), while both teams managed to have three takeaways each and were, 50-50, in faceoff win percentage after one period.

    The Panthers were 1/2 on the power play, while the Lightning had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Bennett was penalized for holding at 4:27 of the second period, presenting Tampa with their first power play of the night in the process.

    It didn’t take the Bolts long to bring the thunder on the power play as Kucherov (1) rocketed a one-timer from inside the faceoff dot to the left of Bobrovsky over his glove.

    Victor Hedman (1) and Stamkos (1) had the assists on Kucherov’s 37th career Stanley Cup Playoff goal while the Lightning tied the game, 2-2 at 4:58 of the second period.

    Kucherov’s power-play goal would not be the last time that the Bolts struck on the skater advantage.

    About midway through the middle frame, Ondrej Palat caught Patric Hornqvist without the puck and was sent to the box for interference at 7:51.

    Florida’s resulting skater advantage was cut short when Brandon Montour slashed Killorn at 9:33.

    The Panthers managed to kill off Montour’s minor without incident, but found themselves shorthanded yet again when Markus Nutivaara tripped Anthony Cirelli at 12:56.

    This time, in the dying seconds of the ensuing power play, Kucherov (2) sent another one of his patented one-timers past Bobrovsky’s glove side to put the Lightning back on top, 3-2, with a power-play goal.

    Hedman (2) and Stamkos (2) once again had the assists on Kucherov’s goal at 14:51.

    Moments later, as the clock was winding down with about 90 seconds left in the period, Ryan Lomberg and Coleman started going at it after a stoppage in play, yielding roughing minors for each player at 18:30.

    Through 40 minutes of action at BB&T Center, the Lightning led the Panthers, 3-2, on the scoreboard, despite Florida outshooting Tampa, 29-26, in total shots on goal.

    The Bolts actually held the advantage in shots in the second period alone, however, as Tampa outshot Florida, 16-11, in the middle frame.

    Florida dominated in just about everything else, though, heading into the second intermission ahead of the Lightning in blocked shots (15-9), takeaways (5-4), giveaways (7-5), hits (41-23) and faceoff win% (54-46).

    The Panthers were 1/3 and the Lightning were 2/3 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Huberdeau (1) tallied his first goal of the postseason off of a turnover– turned breakaway– before beating Vasilevskiy with a shot through the Lightning netminder’s five-hole.

    Bennett (1) and Owen Tippett (1) tallied the assists as the Panthers tied the game, 3-3, at 1:27 of the third period on Huberdeau’s goal.

    Florida capitalized on the surge in momentum less than a few minutes later as Tippett (1) one-timed a shot past the Tampa goaltender to give the Panthers a, 4-3, lead at 4:09.

    Huberdeau (2) and Bennett (2) had the assists on Tippett’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

    About a minute later, Cirelli and Mason Marchment got in a scrum and yielded roughing infractions leading to more 4-on-4 action at 5:39.

    Midway through the third, Bennett was penalized for charging and presented Tampa with a power play at 12:19.

    The Bolts capitalized on the ensuing advantage as Point (1) chipped a slap pass on the far side of the mostly vacant net as Bobrovsky was out of position– tying the game, 4-4, in the process.

    Kucherov (1) and Hedman (3) had the assists on Point’s power-play goal at 13:00 of the third period.

    Almost six minutes later, McDonagh fed Point a lead pass– sending Point into the attacking zone on a breakaway whereby Point (2) slipped the rubber biscuit through Bobrovsky’s five-hole to give the Lightning a, 5-4, lead at 18:46.

    McDonagh (2) had the only assist on what became the game-winning goal as the Panthers had no answer for Tampa, despite pulling Bobrovsky for an extra attacker with about 33.5 seconds left in the action.

    At the final horn, the Lightning had won, 5-4, and stolen Game 1 on the road.

    The Bolts finished the night ahead in shots on goal, 40-39, including a, 14-10, advantage in the third period alone.

    Meanwhile, Florida wrapped up Sunday night’s game leading in blocked shots (17-16) and hits (54-36). Tampa led Game 1 in giveaways (12-9) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    The Panthers finished 1/3 and the Lightning went an impressive 3/4 on the power play in Game 1.

    Tampa takes a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 on Tuesday night at BB&T Center.

    Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can catch national coverage on CNBC, while those in Canada can watch the next part of the Battle of Florida on SNE or TVAS.