Lightning fans chant "USA" as Hagel saves Tampa in Game 1
Brandon Hagel saved the Lightning's home crowd from an embarrassing opener Sunday night, scoring twice to force overtime and keep Tampa Bay alive in a wild 3-3 regulation finish against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Amalie Arena crowd had been restless.
Montreal controlled stretches of the third period, and when Juraj Slafkovský buried his second power-play goal of the night to put the Canadiens up 3-2, the building went quiet in a way that playoff buildings never should. Then Hagel answered.
His power-play tip-in at 8:58 of the third sent it to 3-3, and the "USA" chants erupted in Tampa.
It's a funny thing to cheer in the middle of a playoff game.
But Lightning fans will take whatever energy they can get right now.Slafkovský was the story for Montreal.
Two snap goals, both on the power play, both off feeds from Cole Caufield. The 22-year-old looked exactly like the player the Canadiens spent a first-overall pick expecting.
Josh Anderson opened the scoring in the first on a wrist shot, with Ales Carrier and Mike Matheson picking up the helpers.
Darren Raddysh tied it with a slapper early in the second on a Tampa power play, Nikita Kucherov notching the primary assist.
Slafkovský's two power-play goals put Canadiens in control before Hagel strikes late
Jake Guentzel was involved in all three Lightning goals, finishing with three assists. Kucherov added two points on the night.
That's the duo that makes Tampa dangerous, and they showed up when it mattered. The shot advantage belonged to Tampa Bay, 23-18.
But Montreal won 54.4 percent of the faceoffs and out-hit the Lightning 40-45, a grind that kept the Canadiens in it even when the puck wasn't going their way.
Both teams finished the regular season with 106 points.
Tampa went 50-26-6. Montreal went 48-24-10. This was always going to be close.
Tampa went 2-for-5 on the power play. Montreal went 2-for-4.
Special teams decided this game, and they'll likely decide the series.
The Lightning came in with a +59 goal differential over the regular season, best of the two clubs by a wide margin.
That number suggests they should have more room to operate in a series like this.
So far, it hasn't shown.
Jon Cooper's group will need to find another gear in overtime and beyond. Martin St-Louis's Canadiens are not here to fill a bracket.
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