Canadians Rally to Defeat Lightning

The Montreal Canadians overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday at Bell Centre.

Montreal center Jake Evans scored the game-winning goal with 2:15 left in regulation.

Wing Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring at 14:20 in the first period, capitalizing on a loose puck to put it past goaltender Sam Montembeault. The goal marked Kucherov’s 70th point of the season and extended his point streak to 10 games. Early in the second, wing  Jake Guentzel added to the Lightning lead with a backhand shot from wing Michael Eyssimont pass.

Canadians Post Comeback

Montreal began its rally with a power-play goal late in the second period. Left-wing Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, fired a shot past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s right pad to make it 2-1. Slafkovsky is the youngest player to ever be drafted first in the NHL Draft. Less than two minutes later, center Alex Newhook tied the game with a one-timer.

Juraj Slafkovsky made history at the #NHLDraft, becoming the highest selected Slovakian player ever. 🇸🇰

"Welcome to the NHL" premieres today at 3p ET on @ESPNPlus and NHL YouTube at 5:30p ET. pic.twitter.com/sT1JCvKlKI

— NHL (@NHL) July 22, 2022

Evans Seals Deal

The game remained tied until late in the third period, when Evans ripped a one-timer from the left face-off circle. The shot deflected off Vasilevskiy’s blocker and into the back of the net, giving Evans his second game-winning goal against Tampa Bay this season.

The two teams last met Dec. 29, when Montreal defeated the Lightning 5-2 at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The loss marks the Lightning’s seventh in their last eight road games.

Jake Evans scores the game winner for the @CanadiensMTL with only 2:15 remaining! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/H32Eu2nQCT

— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2025

Montreal improved to 24-19-4, closing in on Tampa’s 25-18-3 record. The win also pushed the Canadians into the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Up Next

The Lightning continue their road trip with a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks (14-28-2) on Friday. The game can be found on ESPN+, with face-off expected at 8 p.m.