Lightning storm back to defeat Canadiens in OT
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning's "Triplets" line was back in peak form, helping rally from two goals down in the final 10 minutes, then winning 1:26 into overtime on Tyler Johnson's second goal of the night to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Wednesday at Amalie Arena.
Johnson's goal beat Carey Price and gave the Lightning an unlikely goal to spark a victory at the start of a five-game homestand. Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat had a hand in all four goals for the Lightning.
Down two goals with 10 minutes to play, the Lightning rallied to force overtime against the top team in the Atlantic. Down 3-2 late in the third, Tampa Bay got a power play with 4:41 left, and the NHL's No. 3 unit converted the opportunity, with Ondrej Palat getting his fifth goal of the season with 3:30 left to tie the game.
Tampa Bay made it 3-2 on defenseman Victor Hedman's seventh goal of the season, beating Price on an assist from the team's top scorer, Nikita Kucherov with 8:46 left. Kucherov had a close-range shot to tie the game, but Carey came up with a big save with 6:25 left.
The Lightning saw a late break turn against them as what looked to be a breakaway for Kucherov was called back and Tampa Bay was called for too many men on the ice, though replays showed their player was off the ice before Kucherov got the puck advancing from the bench. The Lightning killed off the ensuing power play and sent the game to overtime.
The Lightning (18-15-3) rallied for a key home win as they open a five-game homestand, and they'll be back again Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the Carolina Hurricanes in town Saturday. Montreal (21-9-5) saw a late lead disappear and got only one point on the road after going 2-3-1 in the previous six games before the holiday break, with a back-to-back awaiting Thursday night at the Florida Panthers.
Montreal jumped ahead early as Alexander Radulov scored 3:24 into the game as the Canadiens stole the puck behind the net and beat goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for a 1-0 lead on their second shot. The Lightning answered with Johnson scoring with 9:21 left in the period for his 10th goal of the season, getting assists from Palat and Kucherov.
Montreal took the lead again late in the first, scoring eight seconds into a power play after Hedman was called for holding. Shea Weber scored his ninth goal of the season for a 2-1 lead that would carry into the second period.
Tampa Bay outshot the Canadiens 13-8 in the second period, but Price stopped all 13 shots. Montreal extended its lead to 3-1 on a goal by Chris Terry, his second of the season, from the side of the net on a pass from Daniel Carr.
NOTES: The Lightning got a boost with the return of key players including leading scorer and F Nikita Kucherov, who was in the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury. F Ondrej Palat was back after missing five contests with an undisclosed injury, while F Cedric Paquette missed a third straight game with a lower-body injury. F Valtteri Filppula was a healthy scratch after missing a team meeting earlier Wednesday. ... Montreal had five injured players not travel with the team -- Fs David Desharnais, Alex Galchenyuk and Andrew Shaw; and D Greg Pateryn and Andrei Markov -- and had another injured player not dress in F Sven Andrighetto, who missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury. D Ryan Johnston was a healthy scratch. ... The Lightning called up rookie C Matthew Peca, who made his NHL debut Wednesday night and recorded a shot and two hits in 13:03 of ice time.