One second. That’s all it took. All it took for Barclay Goodrow to score and put this game away. That colossal misplay in the third just made it official.
That is not to say that all hope is lost. Dominique Ducharme is coming back behind the bench for game three, and we are heading back to Montreal. There’s an old hockey addage: you aren’t in trouble until you lose at home.
Montreal isn’t finished yet, but Game 3 and Game 4 are both must wins. After all, Montreal was in much direr straits against Toronto than they are now. At least they can build on the fact that they outplayed Tampa for a lot of this game.
They outshot the Lightning 43-23, and the returning Ducharme should be able to help get Montreal the matchups they need to get back into the series.
As always, even in wins, there are things that can be done better. And even though Montreal played well, they still lost, and can do a lot of things better.