The Canadiens played 16 minutes of inspired hockey, but that’s not nearly enough when they’re matched against the high-octane Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tampa Bay spotted the Canadiens a 1-0 lead, but roared back to score three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 victory Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens came out strong in the first period and used an aggressive forecheck to keep the play in the Lightning zone. The shots were 8-2 in Montreal’s favour when Yanni Gourde was sent off for slashing Joel Armia and the new and improved Montreal power play went into action.
There was a preview of coming attractions when Ondrej Palat stepped around Shea Weber and launched a short-handed shot that hit the crossbar. The play went the other way and Jeff Petry opened the scoring with a drive from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy high to the far post.
The Lightning came to life after giving up the first goal. The Canadiens were caught on a long shift and Braydon Coburn took advantage when he tied the score with seven seconds remaining in the period.
Tampa Bay added two quick goals to open the second period. After Brett Kulak was penalized for holding at the 31-second mark, it took only 33 seconds for Steven Stamkos to give the Lightning the lead. The scenario leading up to the goal was similar to the Canadiens’ goal because Artturi Lehkonen had a short-handed attempt on an odd-man rush, but his shot hit a post.
Tyler Johnson made it 3-1 at 2:01 of the second period with a shot Carey Price should have stopped. The common denominator on the Lightning goals was that Weber was on the ice for all of them.
This was the third game in a four-game homestand and the Canadiens are 1-2 at home as they prepare to meet the Minnesota Wild Thursday night. They have an overall record of 2-2-2, and while it’s still very early in the season, there is one troublesome trend. The Canadiens have played four games against Atlantic Division rivals and have taken only three of a possible eight points. They are currently tied for sixth in the division standings.
The Canadiens applied pressure in the third period when they outshot the Lightning 14-6, but were unable to beat Vasilevskiy, who made 33 saves to run his career record against the Canadiens to 8-1-2. Price is now 14-16-6 against the Lightning and the three goals he gave up on 22 shots won’t help his save percentage.
The power play went 1-for-5 and has scored a goal in five of Montreal’s six games. The Canadiens’ power play ranks in the top 10 in the NHL after finishing last season with the second-worst record.
But the penalty killing has been horrendous since the start of the season. The Lightning scored on its only advantage and the Canadiens have now given up seven goals on 18 power plays for a 61.1 per cent success rate. That ranks 29th in the NHL.
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