The Montreal Canadiens were returning home with the series tied at one against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The first two games were tight as they both went to overtime and Game 3 was no different with another overtime finish, but the Canadiens were the ones to come out on top by a final score of 3-2.
In this game, the Canadiens would open the scoring with Alexandre Texier scoring the first goal, but the Lightning responded fairly quickly with a power play goal by Brayden Point. Then, in the second, the Lightning would take the lead with Brandon Hagel scoring, but it was Montreal's turn to respond as Kirby Dach tied it at two.
After a scoreless third period, it went to overtime, and the extra period lasted just over two minutes before Lane Hutson scored the game-winner. The Canadiens now have a 2-1 series lead with another home game on Sunday. These are some of the initial takeaways from Game 3 on Friday night.
Montreal Canadiens new look fourth line with an impressive game against Lightning
Entering Game 3, head coach Martin St. Louis elected to shuffle his lines a bit and moved Oliver Kapanen back to center on Ivan Demidov and created a fourth line of Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Alexandre Texier.
The results, especially for the fourth line, as this line was a difference maker in this game, as they combined for six points. It was a big game in particular for Kirby Dach as he had one goal and an assist and bounced back in a big way from an ugly Game 2.
There was almost certainly going to be changes ahead of Game 3, and the thought was that maybe Brendan Gallagher or Joe Veleno might be in the lineup, likely in place of Dach. However, Martin St. Louis stuck with the same forwards and moved them around a bit to get them the spark they needed.
Canadiens struggle on the power play in Game 3
The story in Game 1, and why they won that game, was the Montreal Canadiens' power play as Juraj Slafkovsky scored three goals on the team's five opportunities. Unfortunately, they have not had the same success over the past two games, as they went 1 for 4 in Game 2 and couldn't convert any of their four chances on Friday night in Game 3.
The Lightning had one of the better penalty kill units during the regular season, and it seems like they found some adjustments to make after Game 1. The pressure is now on the Canadiens to figure out a way to have some success when they have the man advantage.
Pressure mounting on Cole Caufield, top Canadiens forward line
The Montreal Canadiens have found a way to take a 2-1 series lead and largely been able to do it without much from their top line in 5v5 situations. It has been surprising the ineffectiveness of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky as they had been so good down the stretch after the Olympic break.
On Friday night, these three combined for only four shots and seemed to be struggling in situations that they won more times than not in the regular season. In regulation, Cole Caufield had a breakaway shot attempt but was shut down by Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Then in overtime, Slafkovsky had what should have been a great shot opportunity up close, but instead elected to pass it over to Caufield, who can't control the puck and make the shot. It is hard to imagine these three struggle an entire series, but if the Canadiens want to advance deep in the playoffs, they need more from their top line.
Lane Hutson continues to make the plays the Montreal Canadiens desperately need
The Montreal Canadiens were going to need Lane Hutson to play at a higher level than he did during the regular season. It is hard to imagine since Hutson was so good, but with Noah Dobson out, the extra work would fall on his shoulders.
Even with the added pressure, Hutson continues to respond as he would have the game-winner in overtime and secure the series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He now has three points in three games with goals in back-to-back games. On top of that, he had over 26 minutes of ice time in Game 3, and surprisingly, that is the lowest time on ice in a game he has had this series.
Lane Hutson has been a star and one of the main reasons the Canadiens have a chance to take a 3-1 lead on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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