Josh Anderson’s second goal at 4 minutes, 21 seconds of overtime lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Anderson’s game winner came moments after Montreal had killed off a four-minute Tampa power play and it cut the Lightning’s series lead to 3-1 in the best-of-seven NHL championship series.
“We understood the hole that we were in, but we just kind of talked about it: Find a way to win one game here,” Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said.
Photo: AFP
Anderson “stepped up and scored a couple of big goals for us,” he added.
Anderson, who opened the scoring in the first period, dove out front and chipped the puck over the right leg pad of Tampa goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, sparking a wild celebration in front of the limited crowd of 3,500 at the Bell Centre arena in Montreal.
The goal kept Montreal alive in the playoffs as they avoided being swept in four straight games in a finals series for the first time since 1952 when they lost to Detroit. Montreal have struggled to keep pace with the Lightning’s explosive offense in the finals, but Canadiens fans are hoping that Anderson’s two goals and goaltender Carey Price’s improved play on Monday will give them a confidence boost.
“We didn’t want to end it tonight in front of our fans,” Anderson said. “We expected to go to Tampa. I think everybody in that locker room did.”
Montreal killed off a double minor penalty to captain Shea Weber to start the overtime and then created one of their best scoring chances while shorthanded when Canada’s Nick Suzuki got free for an open shot, but Vasilevskiy got his pad on it.
The puck immediately went down to the other end of the ice where Price robbed Brayden Point in close as both goaltenders made huge saves early in the extra session.
Price had his best game of the series, finishing with 32 saves in the second of two straight games in Montreal, which is hosting its first Stanley Cup Final since its home team won t Cup in 1993.
Montreal have won 24 Stanley Cups, more than any other team in history, while the Lightning are trying to win their second in as many seasons and third overall.
History is not on Montreal’s side, as teams that have gone down 3-0 in the final’s first three games have lost 26 of the last 27 series.
MATISS KIVLENIEKS
AFP, WASHINGTON
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks of Latvia died on Sunday after what the NHL team described in a Monday announcement as “a tragic accident.”
Kivlenieks was 24.
The team said he appeared to have injured his head in a fall, but ESPN reported a Michigan medical examiner’s preliminary autopsy showed Kivlenieks died of chest trauma caused by a fireworks blast.
The incident took place in Novi, a suburb northwest of Detroit, Michigan.
“We are shocked and saddened by the loss of Matiss Kivlenieks,” said John Davidson, the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations.
“Kivi was an outstanding young man who greeted every day and everyone with a smile, and the impact he had during his four years with our organization will not be forgotten,” Davidson said.
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