Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Where: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Chris Lee, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen:
Brad Lazarowich, Brian Murphy
Attendance:
18808
By SportsDirect Inc.
Lightning 3, Canadiens 1: Rookie Tyler Johnson scored his fifth short-handed goal of the season with 7:19 left in the third period to snap a tie and host Tampa Bay held on to clinch an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Johnson retrieved a loose puck in the neutral zone and went in alone before flipping a backhander past Carey Price for a 2-1 lead. Ryan Callahan also scored and Alex Killorn added an empty-netter while Ben Bishop turned aside 25 shots as the Lightning improved to 8-1-4 in their last 13 games.
Brendan Gallagher scored his 19th goal for Montreal, which also clinched a postseason berth despite having its five-game winning streak snapped. Price made 30 saves for the Canadiens, who fell into a tie with Tampa Bay for second place in the Atlantic Division but have played one more game than the Lightning.
Gallagher opened the scoring 10:18 into the game, battling his way to the net to knock in the rebound of defenseman Mike Weaver’s deflected shot. Callahan tied the game during a power play 9:19 into the second session, when he roofed a backhander from below the left faceoff circle after breaking free.
Teddy Purcell appeared to have given the Lightning the lead with 11.7 seconds left in the second, but the goal was disallowed for incidental contact with Price. Johnson tied Boston’s Brad Marchand for the league lead in short-handed tallies and matched Steven Stamkos' franchise rookie record with his 23rd goal.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Montreal D Douglas Murray received a match penalty for an elbow to the head of Tampa Bay D Mike Kostka with 2:13 left in the game. Kostka laid on the ice for several minutes but skated off under his own power. … Montreal, which dropped three of four to the Lightning this season, fell to 22-3-2 when leading after the first period. … Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula saw his career-best 12-game point streak come to an end.
Top Game Performances
| Montreal |
|
Tampa Bay |
|
Brendan Gallagher 1 |
Points |
Victor Hedman 2 |
|
Brendan Gallagher 1 |
Goals |
Ryan Callahan 1 |
|
Alex Galchenyuk 1 |
Assists |
Victor Hedman 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Ryan Callahan 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Tyler Johnson 1 |
|
Carey Price .938 |
Save Percentage |
Ben Bishop .962 |
|
Carey Price 30 |
Saves |
Ben Bishop 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Montreal
|
26 |
1 |
0-4 |
7-9 |
26 |
37 |
| Tampa Bay
|
33 |
3 |
2-9 |
4-4 |
10 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Lightning have a W/L % of .537 after a win and .571 after a loss.
-
Montreal will play their next game on the road against Ottawa. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .636 after a loss.
For more information, contact us