Juraj Slachowski showed why Montreal selected him No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, completing his first playoff hat-trick by scoring a power-play goal 1:22 into overtime, leading the Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opener of their Eastern Conference First Round series on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena.
Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel took a high-sticking penalty with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, and Slafkowski made him pay with his third power-play goal of the game. Lane Huston played a pass to Slafkovsky as he went to the left circle and the 22-year-old beat goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy to wrap up the win.
It wasn't a great night for Vasilevskiy, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Bolts. He allowed four goals on 19 shots and rarely looked like the goaltender who excelled when the Bolts won Cup in 2020 and 2021. Montreal rookie Jacob Dobbs made 20 saves.
The Canadiens lead the series 1-0, with Game 2 being played on Tuesday night in Tampa.
Slafkowski's first power-play goal tied the game at the end of the second period, and his second goal gave the Canadiens a brief 3–2 lead in the third. Josh Anderson opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period.
Brandon Hagel scored twice for Tampa Bay after defenseman Darren Radish tied the game at 1–1 early in the second period.
The Lightning had their first good scoring chance of the game when Eric Cernak found himself alone in the slot, but Dobbs came well out of his net to narrow the angle and make the save.
The Canadiens missed a pair of 2-on-1 opportunities after the Lightning called too many people at 10:37 and failed to capitalize on their first power play. But thanks to some good work from their fourth line they went 1–0 up at 13:24.
Alexandre Carrier worked the puck free behind the net and inserted a pass into the slot, where Anderson quickly put it into the net at 13:24 to put the Canadiens ahead. Vasilevskiy appeared to lose track of the puck and the Lightning defense did the same to Andersen, one of the few Montreal players left in the Canadiens' five-game loss to the Bolts in the 2021 finals.
Montreal spent most of the remaining period killing penalties. Tampa Bay played 4:13 of the final 5:23 with an extra man in the opening period, but did not get much offense. Despite falling behind 10-4, the Canadiens took the lead with a one-goal lead.
Neither team led much in the first half of the second period, but at 10:43 the Canadiens were looking to double their lead when Anderson stepped up and drilled a point shot into the net. However, a video review showed that Anderson's stick was slightly above the crossbar, and the goal was disallowed.
Anderson was called for charging 12 seconds later, and the Lightning took advantage of their fifth power play to tie the score. Radish evened it up at 12:15 when he took an accurate feed from Nikita Kucherov and one-timed it past Dobbs from inside the left circle at 12:15 to tie the game at 1–1.
This match lasted only 29 seconds. The Canadiens misplayed the puck behind their own net, and Guentzel slipped a pass off a defender's stick that came straight to Hegel, whose quick backhander from out of the blue beat Dobbs at 12:49. In just over two minutes, the Canadiens went from an apparent 2-0 lead to an actual 2-1 deficit.
It seemed as if this period might end just like this. Montreal managed only one shot on goal until Tampa Bay's Connor Geikie took an unnecessary high-stick penalty with 1:28 remaining. Vasilevskiy made some great saves, but had no chance on Slafkovsky's one-timer from inside the right circle, tying the game 2–2 at 19:36.
Each team scored another power-play goal before reaching the midpoint of the third period. Slafkowski found some space in bumper situations and converted a perfect pass from Cole Caufield at 5:56 to give Montreal a 3–2 lead. But Hagel tied it at 8:58 when he extended his shot in front of the net and redirected Guentzel's pass past Dobbs.
The game was tied 3–3 in overtime – but not before Guentzel took a high-sticking penalty at 19:39 when he tried to put an airborne puck into the net but missed and hit Canadiens defenseman Caden Guhle in the face, leading to Slafkowski's OT winner.
Key takeaways after Canadiens outlast Lightning in OT to win Game 1
Slafkowski's next step
When the Canadiens made Slafkowski the first player taken in 2022, a lot of eyes were raised. He is quick to erase any questions about choice.
Slafkowski became the first Montreal player to score a power-play goal in overtime since PK Subban did so in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Boston Bruins in 2014. It is the first playoff hat trick by a Canadian since Rene Bourque scored a goal against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals.
The hat trick followed a regular season in which he set career highs with 30 goals and 73 points. He led the Canadiens with 15 power-play goals and when he scored one the Canadiens' score was 22–3–1.
Unsettled night for Vasilevsky
When he calls it a career, "Vesey" becomes a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame. He has won the Stanley Cup twice, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP (2021), and the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender (2018–19). He has started 113 consecutive playoff games for the Lightning, and his 67 playoff wins are 12th all-time.
But Vasilevskiy wasn't sharp on Sunday. The TNT studio crew noted this after Anderson's first-period goal, and he was not sharp for most of the night, failing to make big saves when the Lightning needed it most.
Vasilevskiy's career goals-against average in the playoffs is 2.46 — but it has been 3.22 or worse in each of the past three seasons, a big reason the Bolts have not advanced beyond the first round since reaching the final in 2022. If the Lightning hope to avoid a fourth consecutive early departure, they need to be much better.
No home-ice advantage in OT for the Lightning
The Lightning sell out East Amaali Arena every night and have done so for every game since COVID restrictions ended. But playing at home doesn't help when it comes to overtime in the playoffs.
Slafkowski's game-winner handed the Lightning their seventh consecutive overtime loss in the playoffs. Overall, they are 9-13 in their own building, while they are 14-8 when they have visitors. Tampa Bay has not won a playoff game in home OT since defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 on May 12, 2022.
