Tampa Beat Montreal in Game XNUMX of the Finals!

The third match will take place on Friday (Saturday, 3:00 Moscow time) in Montreal. However, the number of fans at the Bell Center will remain at 3500. On Wednesday, Quebec authorities did not allow the number of allowed fans to be increased to 10500, as the Canadiens had hoped.

The first 20 minutes of the second game turned out to be goalless, but intense. Both teams had excellent chances to score, but Vasilevskiy and Carey Price (20 saves) were flawless in the final stages.

Montreal's most dangerous moment happened already in the third minute, when, after an unsuccessful change of Tampa, Nick Suzuki jumped on Vasilevsky, but the Lightning goalkeeper put his stick in time and knocked the puck from the opponent. 

Tampa responded with a shot by Barkley Goodrow and then ruined two majorities. Moreover, if in the first case, Lightning was never even thrown on target, then in the second, they immediately entrenched themselves in the zone and created a couple of dangerous moments. Nikita Kucherov was very active among the hosts, in the first period alone he threw three times on target (this is exactly half of all Tampa's shots), but in the end he was left without points.

Perhaps the Lightning's not very effective play was mostly due to forced reshuffles. Alex Killorn could not take part in the match, usually playing in the first special team and scoring four goals in the playoffs in the playoffs. Sirelli took his place in the extra draw, and Mathieu Joseph got into the application for the match.

Personnel news, but with a plus sign, were also in Montreal. Forward Yoel Armia returned to the lineup, replacing Jake Evans.

The Canadiens had a very active trio of Tyler Toffoli, Suzuki and Cole Cofield, throwing more shots (four) in one first period than in the entire first game (three). At the junction of periods, it was the turn of the guests to play in the majority. Ryan McDonagh swung his stick wide of the puck but hit Phillip Dano in the face for a double minor penalty. The guests had a good time during those four minutes, they were remembered for their shots by Esperi Kotkaniemi and the ubiquitous Suzuki, but Vasilevsky stood as a wall.

But Price blundered at a crucial moment. In the seventh minute of the second period, he lost sight of the puck and was unable to stop Cirelli's not the most dangerous shot from the blue line. The Canadiens' goaltender's excuse is heavy traffic—he was clearly preparing for a rebound that didn't happen.

By the middle of the second period, when Mikhail Sergachev was sent off for blocking Artturi Lehkonen, the ratio of shots in favor of Montreal reached 22-8. And the 23rd throw was happy for the guests. Active Suzuki equalized on the powerplay, although his backhand did not look dangerous. But the puck hit McDona's stick on the way and flew into the goal between Vasilevsky's pads. The Lightning defender in the finals is clearly unlucky so far - in the first match, the only Canadiens puck was thrown by a rebound from his skate.

The goal scored inspired the guests, who continued to press and force Vasilevsky to make one spectacular save after another. The second period was generally one of the worst for Tampa in a long time. At 16:38 p.m., when the Lightning were given a break by Armia's removal, Montreal had a 16-2 shooting lead (and a 29-8 overall). But those two minutes of five-on-four brought the champion back to life. For them, the Lightning created four of the most dangerous chances, although they could not change the score. But the momentum allowed them to mount a devastating attack that ended with an incredible goal by Blake Coleman 1,1 seconds before the break. Coleman, who had not scored since the first match of the starting round against Florida, in the fall closed the cross of Goodrow, who intercepted the puck, and brought Tampa ahead - 2: 1. 

To lead in the score after such a period - it was necessary to manage, but that's how the main matches are won. 

We have repeatedly noted that the Lightning, like no one else, are able to keep the winning score. In the previous 15 matches, when they were leading after two periods, they had 13 wins. Now the statistics have improved to 14 out of 16. Tampa confidently spent the third period and did not reach the nervous ending. Encouraged by the miracle goal, Coleman had two sure chances in the first five minutes, but both times he failed to beat Price. Montreal looked decent and also had a few chances. The same trio of Suzuki looked the most active among the guests, but for the second time they could not break through Vasilevsky, who had caught the courage.

But “Tampa” scored, avoiding hassle. With 4:18 left in the third period, Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson made a mistake behind his net, presenting the puck to Ondrej Palat, who scored his fifth goal of the playoffs off Price's skate.

Despite the difficulties of the second period, the Lightning endured until the victory and took another step towards the second championship in a row.