Despite weakened strengths, the Canadian offered strong opposition to the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
Ondrej Palat scored in overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal side 5-4 on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.
Palat moved the strings after 36 seconds of play in overtime, moments after Jake Evans lost his balance leaving the zone.
Corey Perry tied the game with 20 seconds left in regulation time for the Lightning.
The Lightning played a similar trick to the Habs on Dec. 7, scoring two goals late in the third period to win 3-2.
Brayden Point, who was in his first game since Nov. 20, netted a brace and amassed an assist, while Ross Colton also netted a goal for the Lightning (21-6-4). Victor Hedman had two assists and Maxime Lagacé, who was playing his first NHL game since May 8, stopped 27 shots.
Kale Clague and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, both with their first NHL goals, as well as Lukas Vejdemo and David Savard scored for the Canadian (7-21-4). In his first game since November 26, Samuel Montembeault repelled 32 shots.
The Canadian has nine players on the sidelines due to NHL protocol related to COVID-19. Seven other players are also on the sidelines with injuries.
The Habs had only four players who have salaries of over $ 1 million, forwards Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher, as well as defenders Savard and Brett Kulak. Only six of the 20 players in uniform – Drouin, Gallagher, Savard, Kulak, Nick Suzuki and Cédric Paquette – had at least 100 games of NHL experience.
In the Lightning camp, head coach Jon Cooper, goaltenders Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Anthony Cirelli were notably on the sidelines under NHL protocol related to COVID- 19.
The Canadian will play his next game on Thursday, when he visits the Carolina Hurricanes.
Highs and lows
Despite the circumstances, the Canadian got off to a good start. Savard and Drouin quickly challenged Lagacé, but the latter closed the door.
The Canadian finally opened the scoring after 10:46 of play. Michael Pezzetta went there with a fine individual effort. He then picked up the puck in the corner and returned it to the front of the net. Vejdemo was passing by and he only had to push the disc into an abandoned cage.
Drouin screwed up an opportunity to widen the gap moments later and the Lightning finally responded at 11:38. Point has hit the target after a two-on-one attack.
Point returned to charge 2:32 later. This time around, he hit the nail on a short throw from Alex Killorn after a blunder from Kulak.
The Canadian responded quickly, after 2:05 of play in the second period. Posted in front of the opposing net, Harvey-Pinard scored by deflecting a delivery from Sami Niku from the corner.
The game could have turned out differently at 6:09 of the second period. Gallagher believed he had given the lead, but the referees refused the goal, believing he had obstructed Lagacé. Despite a challenge from the Canadian, video officials confirmed the referees’ decision and the Habs were punished for delaying the match.
Colton gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead as the Canadiens’ penalty ended. He beat Montembeault with a good shot on reception at 8:11.
The Lightning could have retired to the locker room for the second intermission with a much larger lead.
Alex Killorn came up against Montembeault in two shorthanded breakaways.
The Lightning was also menacing on the power play. Point and Corey Perry officially hit the posts around Montembeault’s net. Point was also frustrated when his shot branched off against the Canadiens’ goalie stick before going over the target.
The Canadian increased the pressure early in the third period and Clague brought everyone back to square one after 6:11 of play. He completed a great climb orchestrated by Ryan Poehling and Cole Caufield by beating Lagacé with a slapshot from the side. of the mitten.
Savard then gave the Habs the lead with 6:51 to go. He intercepted a pass from Gabriel Fortier at the blue line and moved forward. He laughed at Hedman before beating Lagacé on the side of the mitten.
Perry however played the spoilsport by leveling the mark with 20 seconds to go and while Lagacé had been replaced by an additional striker.
Palat then played the heroes in overtime.