The Montreal Canadiens might have entered the series as the underdog but they put the Tampa Bay Lightning on notice with a win in Game 1. They were looking to keep that momentum going and take a 2-0 lead on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, it wouldn't work out that way as they would lose 3-2 in overtime.
After their loss in Game 1, the Canadiens knew the Lightning were going to give them their best shot. They certainly did and took an early 1-0 lead after Brandon Hagel beat Jakub Dobes to open the scoring.
However, Montreal responded as Lane Hutson scored a power play goal to tie it going into the first intermission. Then in the second period, it was Josh Anderson who gave the Canadiens the lead, and it remained 2-1 until the Lightning were able to tie it in the third with a goal by Nikita Kucherov.
In the overtime period, it seemed to be all Tampa Bay as the Canadiens did not generate a single shot on goal in over 12 minutes of the overtime period. It would be J.J. Moser who would score the game winner and tie this series up at two.
These are some of the initial takeaways from Game 2 for the Montreal Canadiens.
Canadiens remain hot on the power play with Lane Hutson scoring his first career playoff goal
In Game 1, the Montreal Canadiens converted five power play opportunities into three power play goals, with Juraj Slafkovsky scoring all of them. On Tuesday night, the Canadiens' power play continues to be productive, as Lane Hutson was able to get a power play goal that tied the game at one. in the first period.
Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy in his rookie season last year and got only better this season with 78 points. Entering his second career playoffs, he was expected to be taking on a bigger role with Noah Dobson out due to an injury. In terms of ice time, he certainly has done that as he had 29 minutes in Game 1 and followed it up with 32 minutes on Tuesday night.
In addition to the ice time, Hutson is helping out on the offensive end. After recording an assist in Game 1, Hutson scored his first career playoff goal in Game 2. The young defenseman continues to show how his game is developing and he is going to be a difference-maker in the playoffs for the Canadiens.
Josh Anderson finds the net once again for his second goal in these playoffs
Josh Anderson has found the scoring touch in these playoffs as he had another goal on Tuesday night, which was his second in as many games.
The Canadiens knew that they were going to need players to step up and score outside of their top forward line. There wasn't really anyone who expected that player to be Anderson, who had 14 goals in the regular season.
He technically had one stretch where he scored goals in consecutive games he played but that was at the beginning of January and he missed six games in between those two games. It is hard to imagine that Anderson can keep this pace up but Montreal will take it as long as it lasts.
Jakub Dobes delivers an incredible performance again on the road
It is easy to forget at times this season that Jakub Dobes is a rookie with how well he has played this season. The fact that he opened the playoffs on the road against the Lightning and delivered the performances he has is pretty remarkable.
Once again on Tuesday night, Dobes did all he could to keep the Canadiens in this game. He finished the game allowing three goals but faced 34 shots in the process. In overtime in particular, he did all he could after stopping nine shots while the Canadiens couldn't get anything going in the extra period.
Dobes now returns home where he has been much better this season with a goals against average of only 2.61. The Canadiens have to like their chances with him in the crease for the next few games.
Montreal Canadiens struggle to get anything going in overtime
For most of the game, the Montreal Canadiens felt in control and were keeping the Lightning on their heels. That all changed in overtime though as the Canadiens struggled to get into any kind of rhythm and the Lightning were dictating the pace of play.
For a team with the type of forwards they have in Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky as their top line, it is pretty inexcusable not to be able to get one shot on goal in overtime. However, the struggles go back to the third period, where the Canadiens as a team mustered only two scoring chances to the Lightning's 17, according to Natural Stat Trick.
A return to Montreal could help this group get back on track because they are going to need more from this line if they hope to get past the Lightning.
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