Tampa Bay Lightning rally late to escape Canadiens

With less than three minutes remaining in the game, the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Tampa Bay’s victory comes exactly five months after the Bolts beat the Canadiens in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

First time the Lightning have played the Canadiens since: pic.twitter.com/vaR0yIbDLk

— Andrew Weiss (@WeissHockeyTalk) December 7, 2021

Lightning vs. Canadiens recap

What happened

Tampa Bay’s season has not gone as expected as the Lightning have not been getting the best of starts. Moreover, the Bolts have struggled throughout the season to find hot starts with an early lead. Nonetheless, the Lightning struck first on Tuesday after Pat Maroon racked up an early shot lead on a turnover by Kale Clague.

https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/1468377160843132928

Clague was making his debut for Montreal but ended up making the costly mistake after whiffing the shot from behind Montreal’s net. Maroon then spun-and-shot for the score to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead in the first period. The following play would see some fierce back-and-forth power play between the teams without producing any additional goals.

The second period saw a much more dominant Montreal team, which would pay off as Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman each scored to give the Habs a 2-1 lead. After a scoreless second period for the Bolts, Tampa Bay had a wake up call in the final 20 minutes of the game.

How Tampa Bay secured the win

There was a sense of urgency for Tampa Bay to counter at the start of the third period. And the Bolts surely would, rallying late in the third period.

Andrei Vasilevsky in particular stepped up when the Lightning needed him most, finishing the contest making a total of 21 saves. He stood firm to deny a shot by Artturi Lehkonen to keep the matchup at a one score game in the third.

Big cat made some big saves! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/pTL1cCETuR

— Bally Sports Sun: Lightning (@BallyLightning) December 8, 2021

With 2:06 remaining in the game, Corey Perry would score the tying goal to even the game 2-2.

COREY PERRY! Perry sets up in front and redirects one home to tie it up!#GoBolts pic.twitter.com/XizDpTfFvi

— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) December 8, 2021

Finally, Ondrej Palat scored the winner for the Bolts with only 38 seconds to go in the third period of the game.

BOLTS LEAD 3-2!

Ondrej Palat gives the @TBLightning the lead with less than 40 seconds left! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/Ep6jAdQ4w3

— Bally Sports Sun: Lightning (@BallyLightning) December 8, 2021

What’s next for the Lightning

The Bolts will look to build on their victory as they will travel to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday for the fourth game of a five-game trip. The puck is set to drop at 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena and the game can be watched on ESPN+.