Overview
- Montreal beat Tampa Bay 3-2 in overtime on Friday in Montreal as Lane Hutson scored 2:09 into the extra period on a slap shot through traffic to give the Canadiens a 2-1 series lead.
- Kirby Dach tied Game 3 late in the second period with a screened shot and drew loud chants from Bell Centre fans after taking heat for a Game 2 mistake.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots, including breakaways by Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson, while Jakub Dobes faced 17 shots and made 15 saves behind a tighter Montreal defense.
- Lightning coach Jon Cooper called it his team’s worst showing of the three games and said Vasilevskiy kept them alive after giving up multiple full-ice breakaways.
- All three games have gone to overtime, and Game 4 is Sunday night in Montreal as the young Canadiens try to push a veteran Lightning group that has dropped early rounds in recent years.