Lightning roll 51 in Finals opener
Playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves to outplay Carey Price and lead the host Tampa Bay Lightning to a 51 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday.
Kucherov put the defending champs up 31 early in the third period with a fluky goal that Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot tried to bat down with his hand before the puck wound up in the net.
Kucherov scored again at 11:25 of the third, then assisted on Steven Stamkos’ powerplay goal that made it 51 with just over a minute to go. The Canadiens had not given up a powerplay goal in an NHL playoffrecord 13 consecutive games.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Tampa.
Vasilevskiy, a favorite to win the Vezina Trophy for the second time in three years, lost a bid for a fifth shutout this postseason when Chiarot scored his first career playoff goal late in the second period.
The Russian goaltender blanked the New York Islanders twice in the semifinals, including 10 in Game 7. Chiarot’s goal ended Vasilevskiy’s streak of not yielding a goal at 97 minutes, 40 seconds.
Price made his Stanley Cup Finals debut in his 14th season with the Canadiens. He’s the first goaltender in league history to win more than 400 regularseason and playoff games combined before appearing in the Finals.
Montreal forward Joel Armia was scratched after being cleared from COVID19 protocol and being flown by private jet to Florida earlier in the day.
Briefly: The Blackhawks have hired a former federal prosecutor to conduct an independent review of allegations that a former player was sexually assaulted by a thenassistant coach in 2010. The investigation comes after the filing of two lawsuits against the team . ... The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto announced that the Class of 2020 will be inducted Nov. 15. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is among six who will be enshrined in the Players category. The induction was to have taken place in November but was postponed because of the coronavirus.