Lane Hutson scored 2:09 into overtime and the host Montreal Canadiens took Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Friday, moving ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven set.
While Hutson scored the game-winner and his second goal of the series, it was Montreal’s fourth line that lifted the Habs to victory. Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier both had a goal and an assist, and Zack Bolduc had two helpers.
Jakub Dobes made 15 saves for the Habs in the third straight game of the series to require overtime. Game 4 is Sunday night in Montreal.
Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning, with Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov generating assists.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots for the Lightning.
The Canadiens controlled most of the play in the second half of regulation, outshooting the Lightning 18-4 in the 32:34 before overtime. Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson had breakaway chances in the third that Vasilevskiy denied.
That domination finally paid off in the extra session. Hutson scored on the first shot of overtime after getting the puck from Texier at the point and then beating Vasilevskiy through traffic.
“I thought of the three games, this was our worst game for us from start to finish,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It was fortunate for us that we took this to overtime. We gave up three pretty much full-ice breakaways in the game. The goalie kept us in it.”
Montreal started the scoring less than five minutes into the contest. Bolduc and Dach’s give-and-go got the puck into the offensive zone, and Bolduc found Texier at the top of the slot with 15:07 remaining in the first.
The Lightning evened the score less than three minutes later on their third power-play goal of the series. Point’s first goal of the series came with 12:18 left thanks to Dobes earning a minor for tripping Yanni Gourde.
Hagel gave Tampa Bay the lead with 15:13 to go in the second. He capitalized on a bad pass from Jake Evans in the neutral zone, swatting in down, skating into the zone and getting his fourth of the series from the top of the circle to Dobes’ right.
Montreal’s fourth line got its second goal of the game nearly eight minutes later as Dach — vilified by some Canadiens fans for plays that led to the Lightning winning Game 2 in overtime — added to his redemption with a shot from the left circle that beat Vasilevskiy with 7:17 left in the period.
“I think as a competitor, anybody, you want to be able to bounce back and put your best foot forward,” Dach said. “At the same time, we have such a great group of guys here. Everybody was lifting me up and helping me out, (including) the training staff and coaches. It definitely wasn’t just myself kind of digging myself out of that hole. I had a lot of support.”
–Field Level Media
