Lightning work overtime to beat Habs
Kucherov goal ends Game 1 marathon
MONTREAL — Yes, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Canadiens all five times the teams met this past regular season.
One went into overtime – a piddly 63 seconds of it.
Yes, coaches and players on both teams were saying before this Eastern Conference semifinal began Friday night at the Bell Centre, the regular-season record was completely irrelevant.
Absolutely, everyone will surely agree now, we appear to be in for one tumultuous ride in the wake of Nikita Kucherov’s goal 2:06 into the second overtime period, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.
It was fitting – justice served, for some observers – that it was Kucherov who would net the winner, seeing as the Lightning winger had been the focal point of a controversial call 20 playing minutes earlier.
Had Tampa Bay lost, we would have been talking for a long, long time about an apparent goal called back 2:56 into the first overtime after Kucherov slid into Canadiens goalie Carey Price and the puck wound up in the net in the melee.
On the ice, per the NHL Situation Room’s thumbnail release, officials ruled that Kucherov had pushed Price’s pad “so he was unable to play his position properly.”
It was not a reviewable play, according to Rule 78.5 (IX), so the teams played on. And on. “That’s probably the definition of irony right there,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper would say of Kucherov scoring the winner. “I can’t sit here and say the ref was wrong on his call, though. You can make an argument that (Kucherov) pushed (Price’s) pad in the net, I looked at it a couple times.
“First of all, give Price credit. That was a nice save. He’s moving fast, he can’t stop, but I don’t know, I can’t argue with the ref’s call.
“It’s tough in the moment, when you watch it fast,” Cooper said. “But they’ve got the trained eye. When I looked at it on the replay, (Kucherov) pushed his pad in the net, didn’t really give Price the chance to make the second save. So he probably made the right call.”
This was the third playoff overtime match played between these two teams in nine playoff games, the longest of the three.
In Game 1 of last season’s Eastern quarter-final, forward Dale Weise scored for the Canadiens 18:08 into extra time.
For a time Friday, it looked like a player wearing jersey No. 9 – a somewhat famous number in this city – would thrust a dagger into the heart of Game 1 for the visitors after Tyler Johnson scored on a delicate deflection 2:34 into the third period.
And then a dozen minutes later, a guy wearing No. 67 for the home team scored on something even softer than the pillow that many were late putting their heads on Friday.
Max Pacioretty sent the crowd into hysterics with his shot that eluded Bishop’s glove and dropped lazily into the Lightning net at 14:47, setting the stage for 22:06 of overtime.
Through 40 minutes, this game was without a goal. Then came Johnson’s tip of a Matthew Carle shot past Price 2:34 into the third.
Almost out of the gate, the Canadiens swarmed Bishop in the Tampa Bay net, David Desharnais and Pacioretty drilling goalposts and generally blitzing the Lightning netminder.
It took the visitors a while, but they hit a better stride as the period wore on, testing Price with a few tough shots to take an 11-10 shots lead into the first intermission.
The second period was so tight, it squeaked, with both teams failing to cash in on glorious chances. Most notable was a stunning double-pad-stacked glove save by Bishop on Tomas Plekanec that will be replayed until roughly forever.
It was 50 years to the night that the Canadiens had won their 13th of 24 Stanley Cups, captain Jean Beliveau also being awarded the inaugural 1965 Conn Smythe Trophy as the post-season’s most valuable player.
And if no prize was up for grabs Friday night, it’s a good bet the energy rivalled that of the Montreal Forum a halfcentury ago.
Full marks to Lightning players for their effort, coming on just one day’s rest following their sudden-death Game 7 victory over Detroit on Wednesday in their quarter-final.
It was the Bell Centre last April 22 that the Canadiens polished off Tampa Bay, sweeping them out of the Eastern quarters in a brisk four straight.
Funny how the tables were turned exactly a decade after Tampa Bay had bounced the Canadiens in a four-game Eastern semi in 2004, en route to their one and only Stanley Cup championship.
“Back to the scene of the crime a year later?” Cooper had cracked Friday after his team’s morning skate, referring to this being the site of his club’s elimination last season.
For the Lightning, its playoff losing streak in Montreal ended at two games – which is exactly what they hope the skid of the Habs will be come Sunday night.