Alexandre Texier netted a tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the visiting Montreal Canadiens took control of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series by holding off the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
The Canadiens grabbed a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series, and they head home to Montreal for Game 6 on Friday.
Just 1:06 into the third, Texier took a long feed from defenseman Lane Hutson, skated into the left circle unobstructed and blasted a shot that deflected off goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove and in.
Montreal fended off 2 minutes, 33 seconds with Vasilevskiy (21 saves) pulled for the extra skater. Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes wound up with 38 saves on the night.
Brendan Gallagher and Kirby Dach also scored for the Canadiens.
Dominic James and Jake Guentzel found the net for the Lightning, who dropped to 1-2 on home ice in the series. Tampa Bay managed no shots over a span of 10:03 in the third, but they did test Dobes with 17 shots in the frame overall.
“We had to keep chasing the game. That’s not a recipe for success,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve been in that building twice now and have a pretty good feeling of what to expect. … I bet we play better (in Game 6) than we did tonight.”
After former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden fired up the crowd in the pregame, Montreal stemmed the enthusiasm three minutes in when Alex Newhook stole the puck in the neutral zone and drove the net on Vasilevskiy to create a rebound.
The gritty Gallagher, scratched in the first four games and inserted for Oliver Kapanen, followed it up for a lead.
“It’s been a long time,” Gallagher said of being back in the lineup and contributing. “You know, the guys have been playing great hockey all series. With the way we’ve been playing, I just want to come in and try to contribute any way I can. They’ve been playing fantastic. You just want to be a part of it. …
“As the series goes on, it gets tighter and tighter, so you’ve got to make it as tough as you can on a world-class goalie at the other end.”
Following a failed Tampa Bay power play after Hutson went off for a delay of game in the second period, the home side had another man advantage for Arber Xhekaj’s roughing infraction. Vasilevskiy had to immediately stop Jake Evans’ breakaway attempt to start the Lightning’s third power play.
James evened it 32 seconds after the power play ended, drilling his first career playoff goal by Dobes on the glove side. However, Dach tallied 11 seconds later when he worked his way around Gage Goncalves, kicked the puck to his stick through the crease and flipped in a shot for a 2-1 edge.
Tampa Bay caught Montreal for the second time on a 2-on-1 and scored as Guentzel fired one through the Dobes’ pads at 17:23 of the middle period.
–Field Level Media
