They can almost taste the champagne.
The Lightning’s 6-3 Game 3 victory over the Canadiens on Friday night at the Bell Centre not only put Montreal into an incredible hole in the Stanley Cup Final, but it sent the sobering message that no matter what the Canadiens try or how competitively they play, they just might not be able to beat the defending champs.
Montreal had a lot on its side entering Game 3: a limited capacity but loud and energetic crowd of 3,500 on home ice, another 25,000 outside the arena, and an entire country crossing its fingers for the first Canadian Stanley Cup since 1993.
Instead, Tampa Bay is one win from making history as just the ninth franchise to win back-to-back Cups.
Tyler Johnson, one of the Lightning’s longest-tenured players, scored two goals while centering Tampa Bay’s fourth line.
Game 3 played out much like the final’s first two games. It took Montreal a while to find its footing, but after the first period, the Canadiens were beginning to tilt the ice in their favor down 2-1.
As in Games 1 and 2, the Lightning sensed that sway coming and put an end to it quickly, scoring two goals in the first 3:33 of the second period to open up the game and quiet the home crowd.
The Lightning went up 3-1 on Nikita Kucherov’s goal with 1:40 into the second. The Canadiens failed to get the puck deep, and defenseman Erik Cernak caught Montreal on a line change, connecting with Ondrej Palat on a stretch pass into the Lightning offensive zone.
Palat charged the net from the left circle, then swept a cross-crease pass to Kucherov, who tucked in a backhanded shot inside the far post, giving Kucherov a league-best 32 points in the postseason.
Tyler Johnson then scored at the 3:33 mark in the second on a textbook play from end to end. David Savard made a quick touch pass from the neutral zone to Mathieu Joseph, creating a 2-on-1 rush.
Montreal goalie Carey Price turned away Joseph’s wrister, but the rebound went off Joseph’s skate and toward the slot, where Johnson was charging the net and had an easy backhanded shot.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves in the win. Coming off a 42-save effort in Game 2, the Lightning goaltender was superb and his defense in front of him prevented second opportunities.
The Lightning went up 2-0 on goals by defensemen Jan Rutta and Victor Hedman on shots from the point that found the back of the net through screens.
Tampa Bay struck quickly when Rutta, who had zero goals in the regular season, scored his second goal in the past nine games, on a shot from the right point 1:52 into the game.
And Hedman scored on the Lightning’s first power play. Left alone by a Canadiens team dedicated to boxing Kucherov in the right circle, Hedman had a good look from the point in front of the net and put it past Price.
Johnson put the Lightning up 5-1 with 4:41 left with a remarkable second-effort rebound.
Blake Coleman’s empty-netter in the third closed out scoring.
