CH RALLY FALLS SHORT
Canadiens can’t solve Bolts
The skinny: Ben Bishop didn’t have to be at the top of his game Monday night to run his career record against the Canadiens to 10- 1- 2. The Tampa Bay goaltender faced only 13 shots in the first two periods and survived a 15- shot barrage in the third to give the Lightning a 5- 3 win over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre. The victory gave Tampa a sweep of the five- game season series against Montreal, with Tampa outscoring the Canadiens 20- 8. Despite the loss, the Canadiens held on to first place in the Atlantic Division, but their lead over the second- place Lightning is down to one point with five games to play.
Last gasp: Montreal cut the Tampa lead to 3- 2 when Jeff Petry scored his first goal as a Canadien at the 23- second mark of the third period. The Canadiens applied the pressure, but Vladislav Namestnikov restored Tampa’s two- goal lead when he scored at 6: 21. That goal became the winner when P. K. Subban scored on a power play at 16: 50. Namestnikov led the Tampa offence with two goals and an as- sist. Anton Stralman scored an empty- net goal for the final margin.
Lightning strikes: It’s never a good sign when the opposing goaltender collects two assists, but that was the case in the second period as Tampa Bay took a 3- 1 lead. Bishop took advantage of a sloppy line change to trigger a 2- on- 1 break and Namestnikov was all alone to accept a pass from Steven Stamkos to open the scoring at 1: 34. Dale Weise received a double minor for slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct. Max Pacioretty was set up by Tomas Plekanec as he connected on a short- handed one- timer for his 37th goal of the season at 2: 34. But Weise was still in the penalty box when Jonathan Drouin beat Carey Price on a breakaway at 4: 57 with assists to Stralman and Bishop. Nikita Kucherov made it 3- 1 with his 28th of the season at 18: 07.
Power play produces shots: The Canadiens took three penalties before the game was 12 minutes old. As a result, the Lightning had an early 10- 1 lead in shots with eight of their shots on the power play. Tampa finished the period with a 13- 7 edge and four of Montreal’s shots came on their one power play. The
Canadiens’ power play was 1- for3 on the game, while Tampa went 1- for- 5.
Mystery ailment: Tyler Johnson, who shared the Tampa Bay scoring lead with Stamkos, was scratched with an upper- body injury. Johnson finished Saturday ’s 4- 0 loss to Detroit, but he was hurting on Sunday and is day- to- day with an upper- body injury. The Lightning also lost Jason Garrison for three to four weeks with an upper- body injury and defenceman Andrej Sustr is out one- to- two weeks also with an upper- body injury. One pleasant surprise for Tampa Bay was the appearance of Cedric Paquette in the lineup after he appeared to have suffered a serious leg injury in Detroit.
What’s next: There’s a potential playoff preview on Thursday night when the Washington Capitals visit the Bell Centre ( 7: 30 p. m., Sportsnet East, RDS, TSN- Radio 690). The Canadiens hit the road for games Friday in New Jersey and Sunday against the Florida Panthers. Fans are reminded that the Sunday game features a rare 5 p. m. start.