Tampa Bay 6, Montreal 5
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 29, 2018
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Ghislain Hebert
Linesmen:
Brad Kovachik, Steve Miller
Attendance:
19092
By Field Level Media
Adam Erne scored the tying goal almost midway through the third period Saturday night and collected the game-winner with 62 seconds remaining as the host Tampa Bay Lightning earned a wild 6-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
The Lightning trailed 2-0, 3-2 and 5-4 before extending their winning streak to five games and point streak to 14 games (13-0-1). Tampa Bay has six winning streaks of at least three games this season.
Erne tied the score by backhanding home a rebound of a shot by Anton Stralman with 10:24 left in the third. He then gave the Lightning just their second lead of the game by firing a shot from the right faceoff circle past goalie Antti Niemi.
It was the second career two-goal game for Erne, who entered Saturday with 10 goals in 73 NHL contests.
Stralman, Yanni Gourde, Nikita Kucheroy and Tyler Johnson also scored for the Lightning, who have scored six or more goals 11 times in 39 games this season. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves.
Andrew Shaw scored twice while Kenny Agostino, Jordie Benn and Brett Kulak had a goal apiece for the Canadiens, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Niemi recorded 26 saves.
Shaw opened the scoring at the 9:44 mark of the first and Agostino doubled the Canadiens' lead just 16 seconds later. But the Lightning tied the score for the first time when Gourde and Stralman scored in a span of fewer than three minutes late in the period. Benn gave Montreal the lead again by scoring with 2:25 left, a mere 28 seconds after Stralman's goal.
The Lightning went ahead for the first time when Kucherov and Johnson scored 38 seconds apart shortly before the midway point of the second. The Canadiens again responded with a quick strike of their own as Kulak (12:19) and Shaw (13:11) scored the tying and go-ahead goals in a 52-second span.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Montreal |
|
Tampa Bay |
|
Phillip Danault 3 |
Points |
Adam Erne 3 |
|
Andrew Shaw 2 |
Goals |
Adam Erne 2 |
|
Phillip Danault 3 |
Assists |
Victor Hedman 2 |
|
Andrew Shaw 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Nikita Kucherov 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Antti Niemi .812 |
Save Percentage |
Andrei Vasilevskiy .868 |
|
Antti Niemi 26 |
Saves |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 33 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Montreal
|
38 |
5 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
34 |
| Tampa Bay
|
32 |
6 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
37 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Lightning have a W/L % of .733 after a win and .889 after a loss.
-
Montreal will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .632 after a loss.
For more information, contact us