Canadiens Close In on Lightning in Standings with 3-2 Comeback Win – The Hockey Writers Montreal Canadiens Latest News, Analysis & More

The Montreal Canadiens completed another dramatic comeback with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at the Bell Centre. Jake Evans broke a 2-2 tie late in the third to put the host Habs up for good, after they at one point were down 2-0.

With the win, the now-24-19-4 Canadiens moved back into the second-wild-card spot, tied with the Ottawa Senators, each holding 52 points. The Atlantic Division-rival Lightning hold 53 points at 25-18-3, with one game in hand.

Game Recap

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring at 14:20 of the first, after corralling a loose puck Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle had misplayed in front of the net. Jake Guentzel doubled the lead a few minutes into the second, Michael Eyssimont feeding him from behind the net after a won faceoff.

Related: Projected Lineups for Canadiens vs Lightning – 1/21/25

The Canadiens got back into the game soon thereafter, with Conor Geekie off for tripping. Juraj Slafkovsky found a small hole at the side of the net through Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pads to pull the Habs within one. Less than two minutes later, Alex Newhook tied things up with a shot from the slot upon being fed by Patrik Laine, the latter’s second assist of the game.

The Lightning dictated play through most of the game, outshooting the Canadiens 35-22. Starter Sam Montembeault stood tall in the third especially, turning aside all 15 shots he faced, including two in rapid succession midway through the period, one off Guentzel following a giveaway at the blue line and one off Eyssimont from in close on the rebound. In contrast, Vasilevskiy made 19 saves on 22 shots. With only 2:15 left, Evans shot the eventual game-winning goal past him after taking a feed from Joel Armia on an odd-man rush following a faceoff deep in the Canadiens’ zone.

It was Armia’s 100th career assist and 200th career point after he had scored his 100th goal against the Dallas Stars in a 3-1 road win last week. Meanwhile, Kucherov’s goal gave him points in 10 straight games. Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson earned an assist on Slafkovsky’s goal, giving him points in nine straight, as he continues to set new records for the longest points streak by a rookie Habs defenseman.

The Canadiens, who have points in eight of the last nine games, including two wins in three games on their current homestand, visit the Detroit Red Wings, who are also in the middle of the Eastern Conference wild-card race, on Thursday. The Lightning visit the cellar-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.