Evans’ goal late in the third period completes Canadiens’ rally past Lightning in 3-2 victory
Evans’ goal late in the third period completes Canadiens’ rally past Lightning in 3-2 victory
MONTREAL (AP) — Jake Evans scored the winning goal with 2:15 remaining to rally the Montreal Canadiens past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Evans finished a feed from Joel Armia to break the tie with his 11th goal. Juraj Slafkovsky and Alex Newhook also scored, and Sam Montembeault stopped 33 shots to help Montreal win for the 13th time in 17 games.
Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson extended his points streak to nine games. Patrik Laine added two assists.
Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel scored for Tampa Bay, which opened a four-game road trip with a 5-3 loss to Toronto on Monday. Kucherov pushed his points streak to 10 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.
Kucherov slid the puck past Montembeault to open the scoring at 14:40 of the first period. Guentzel gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead 2:45 into the second.
But the Canadiens scored twice in under two minutes to get back in it. Slafkovsky beat Vasilevskiy from a sharp angle for a power-play goal at 5:32 before Laine set up Newhook for a one-timer in the slot at 7:21.
Takeaways
Canadiens: Comebacks are becoming a trend in Montreal’s hot stretch. The Canadiens trailed four times Sunday against the New York Rangers, but rallied each time and won 5-4 in overtime.
Lightning: Road woes continued for Tampa, which has lost seven of its last eight away from home.’
Key moment
Montembeault denied Michael Eyssimont twice on the doorstep to prevent Tampa from taking the lead with 3:43 left.
Key stat
Kucherov has points in 10 straight games for the 11th time in his career. The former Hart Trophy winner has five goals and 11 assists during his current streak.
Up next
Lightning: Continue a four-game road trip Friday in Chicago against the Blackhawks.
Canadiens: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
