The Montreal Canadiens are staying alive at least for one more game. Montreal defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 3-2 in overtime to avoid elimination and a sweep in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Carey Price was phenomenal for the Canadiens and Josh Anderson scores his second of the goal in overtime to give the Canadiens the victory and extends the series to Game 5.
Josh Anderson Extend Series For Montreal
Canadiens Strike First In Period One
The Lightning dominated the first period early as they outshot Montreal 8-0 as the first TV stoppage came. From there the Canadiens were the ones dominating the play. After missing opportunities to get pucks to the net, the Canadiens decided it was best to shoot the puck and it paid off. The Canadiens were able to get their first lead of the series when Josh Anderson made it 1-0 on a feed for Nick Suzuki. Entering Game 4, head coach Dominique Ducharme made some lineup changes. One of which was to put Anderson with Suzuki and Cole Caufield. With Erik Cernak occupied with Caufield, this allowed Anderson to come down the slot and receive the pass from Suzuki. Again the Canadiens were able to score with Andrei Vasilevskiy down on the ground.
From there the Canadiens continued to throw pucks on the net with the hopes of extending the lead. The Canadiens came close to increasing their lead as Vasilevskiy mishandled a puck and Corey Perry almost made it 2-0. Montreal had to survive a scare late in the first period as the Lightning were on the power play. Nikita Kucherov had a chance to tie the game but missed the net. Again the Canadiens were outshot 12-5 but held the lead 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.
Lightning Strike Late in Period Two
Nursing a 1-0 lead entering the second period the Canadiens were able to implement their defensive style to perfection. They did not give Tampa Bay much in terms of shots. Unlike the previous three games, the Canadiens were not chasing the game, they were dictating play. The Canadiens defence was able to bottle up the Lightning forwards through the neutral zone as well as the Lightning players entered the Canadiens defensive zone. Their stellar play in front of Carey Price, something they had not done in the previous games led to glorious chances at the other end. However, Vasilevskiy was equal to the task.
However, the Canadiens continued to play with fire as the Lightning built momentum with their power-play chances. Even though they did not capitalize on the power play moments late the Lightning struck on another Canadiens mistake. Jeff Petry fails to get the puck out of the zone and Ryan McDonagh steps up to keep the puck in the Canadiens zone. From there Blake Coleman picks up the puck passes over to the McDonagh who feeds Barclay Goodrow tying the game at 1-1 late in the second period. From there the Lightning were looking to take the lead. Mikhail Sergachev had a chance to give the Lightning the lead prior to the period ending.
Teams Exchange Goals In The Third Period
After a back and forth start to the third period, the Canadiens regained the lead on a goal by Alexander Romanov. Romanov entered the lineup along with Brett Kulak for Game 4 replacing Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson on defence. It was a great faceoff win by Jake Evans, who replaced Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the lineup to get the puck to Romanov. Romanov shot the puck quickly with Arturri Lehkonen screening Vasilevskiy to give the Canadiens the lead. Many thought Romanov should have been in the lineup earlier than Game 4. Romanov brought a physical presence that was missing from the Canadiens lineup.
However, the lead would not last long as the Lightning tied the game at 2-2 with under six minutes left in the third period. Again the Lightning took advantage of a Canadiens mistake. This time the Canadiens did not get the puck deep into the zone and the Lightning raced up the puck up the ice. Mathieu Joseph entered the zone and slid the puck over to Pat Maroon, who was driving the net and he put it past Price to tie the game at 2-2.
Anderson Wins It
The Canadiens survived another Lightning power play after Shea Weber took a double minor for high sticking late in the third period. But once the game got back to even strength, the Canadiens took over. Anderson used his speed to race into the Lighting’s zone. He threw the puck towards the net. Caufield stopped up sent the puck over to Anderson and passed Vasilevskiy. The Lightning’s celebration will be on hold for at least one more game.
Game 5 goes Wednesday night in Tampa.
Main Photo:
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