Montreal powers through bad luck to earn a point

First period

• A nice start from Phillip Danualt’s line with Josh Anderson and Alexandre Texier sees the Canadiens play the first shift of the game in the offensive zone.
• Ivan Demidov creates a zone entry and Juraj Slafkovský gets a shot from the slot. Looks like there isn’t a great deal of rust to shake off for Montreal.
• That line turns some play in the defensive zone into another shot on Johan Johansson. They have looked great recently.
• Anderson goes six feet offside unnecessarily on another rush by the Danault line, but he makes up for it with a net drive at the end of the shift that draws a hooking call.
• Good movement from the top line, and with a focus on actually getting shots, which is the important bit.
• It seems that every time a player winds up to take a hard shot, the stick is just snapping in half this season. I guess they need to stick to wrist shots.
• It’s a one-sided game so far, but the Canadiens don’t have a goal to show for it.
• Jacob Fowler was just staring very intently at the puck as Noah Dobson stick-handled at his side. He hasn’t seen it much so far.
• He does on the next shift as the Lightning come alive for about three scoring chances. They’re in this game now.
• Demidov does a great job helping out his defencemen, aiding Mike Matheson in a board battle to get the puck to Dobson to start a breakout.
• The Canadiens have kept the pressure on even if they’re not getting many shots. They just earned a power play for a delay of game call because of it. Now they need to capitalize and not waste this effort.
• The aim of actually getting shots is great to see. They’re doing everything they should other than score a goal on the power play.
• Tampa Bay decided the only way to defend was to squeeze the puck along the boards, and that actually worked well for them to kill off the final minute.
• As Slafkovský is working the puck around the offensive zone to set something up, Arber Xhekaj drops the gloves with Scott Sabourin. I would say that wasn’t the greatest time for Xhekaj to end the play, but he scored the KO in the battle, and Sabourin had to be supported on his way off the ice.
• Some nice work from Danualt’s line again, especially Anderson fighting on the forecheck, leads to yet another penalty to Tampa, for holding this time. That line has been on the ice to force all three penalties so far.
• Credit to Anderson for not fighting to hard to steal the puck in the offensive zone with just a few seconds to play. The ref would have called the slightest infraction in that situation.
• Great that Montreal played that period so well, with 15 scoring chances to Tampa Bay’s three. It’s just a shame they couldn’t turn it into a lead.

Second period

• Demidov winds up for a shot and breaks yet another stick. That instantly turns a dangerous situation for Montreal into a break for the Lightning, and Nikita Kucherov scores on a breakaway.
• It’s one thing for this terrible stick quality to spoil Montreal’s chances. This one allowed the opponent to take a lead.
• Texier gets a chance, but had to hook the hands of Declan Carlile to get it. The Frenchman is off to the box to give the Lightning their first power play.
• The Lightning looked good on the power play, but Montreal did a good job of breaking up the most dangerous pass attempts near the net.
• Charle-Edouard D’Astous hands the puck right to Demidov, who tries to immediately fool Johansson with a shot from the boards. The puck pops to the slot for a couple more chances for Demidov and Oliver Kapanen, but the Lightning don’t pay for the error.
• Slafkovský’s dump-in goes off the linesman with everyone racing into the Lightning zone, and it leads to a three-on-one counter-attack. Fowle stops the first shot, but can’t do anything on the second second that comes off the stick of Kucherov.
• Luck just isn’t on Montreal’s side this game.
• Kucherov goes to the box for slashing. Perhaps the officials are trying to make up for the second goal.
• Montreal is so focused on trying to get a goal that they don’t hear Fowler banging his stick at the end of the power play, and Kucherov steps out of the box to set up a breakaway for Olvier Bjorkstand. Fowler makes the save.
• Moments later, Nick Paul makes it 3-0 as he beats Danault to the net to pounce on a rebound. A game that Montreal controlled for the majority of the opening two periods is now over because the Lightning capitalized on their chances, and Montreal didn’t.
• Hutson sets up Zachary Bolduc for a shot. Bolduc’s stick abandons him. It’s a comedy at this point.

Third period

• At least win this period to set up Tuesday’s game in Sunrise.
• Bolduc is off the top line, replaced by Texier.
• Slafkovský fires a shot that beats Johansson but hits the post. The shift isn’t a waste, however, because Demidov goes to the net with Slafkovský driving behind it, and takes a backhand pass to put Montreal on the board.

• And the three-goal lead is immediately restored. Bjorkstrand’s point shot was heading wide of the net but went off the stick on Pontus Holmberg in the slot to fool Fowler and go in.
• Tampa Bay spends a long time cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Now it’s their turn to have a dangerous situation defused by a broken stick.
• It’s the Slafkovský line that gets Montreal on the board second time. Kapanen and Demidov back off the defence on the zone entry, and Slafkovský flies in behind to accept the puck and beat Johansson glove-side.

• It’s an important pushback from Montreal versus what has been a good defensive team, even if the Lightning are missing several regular defencemen.
• Now for the Suzuki line to get in on the action and make this a game.
• And they do that with a Suzuki screen set in front for Dobson to shoot through. I could see Tampa Bay challenge this one for interference, but would Jon Cooper want to put Montreal’s power play on the ice with a chance to tie the game?

Noah Dobson sneaks one in, and it’s suddenly a 4-3 game

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— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) December 28, 2025 at 8:27 PM

• He does not, and the goal may have stood anyway with Suzuki pushed into Johansson.
• It looks like Tampa Bay has completely run out of gas here. Montreal is just getting constant pressure in the offensive zone.
• And just as the Habs are trying to take advantage of a two-minute shift for the Lightning, Matheson’s stick breaks on a point shot and the puck slides to the net. The best Brendan Gallagher can do is whack away at the puck near Johansson’s pads, and the goalie smothers it for a whistle.
• Martin St-Louis sends out the Suzuki line to try to get a late goal, but it spends it in the defensive zone unable to get the puck. They just don’t have it right now.
• This isn’t the most inspiring play with a six-on-five with the Lightning making a shooting gallery in the offensive zone.
• But they get one last chance after the Lightning ice the puck, and they take advantage. Hutson has a shot blocked at the point, but Demidov is there to collect the puck and calmly get it across to Slafkovský, who whips the puck into the net to tie the game.

IT IS JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY’S WORLD AND WE ARE JUST LIVING IN IT

TIE GAME!

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— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) December 28, 2025 at 8:42 PM

• That was a great effort by Montreal to come back, forcing a tired team to play hard in the third instead of just accepting the loss. Especially good from Slafkovský who had a three-point period.

Overtime

• It’s all Montreal in the overtime period, with one great chance created by Demidov.
• Kucherov gets a breakaway, but Fowler makes the save.
• Matheson tries to spin the puck across the crease to get it on his forehand, but Johansson pokes it away.
• Caufield winds up for a rush toward the net, but fires the puck off the post.
• Cirelli hits the post at the other end, so we’re even in that department now.
• Montreal had the better chances, but couldn’t turn it into the second point. The advantage now shifts to Tampa Bay in the shootout with their superior skilled players, but Fowler can still have some say in this game.

Shootout

• Gage Goncalves opens the scoring on the first attempt.
• Demidov loses the handle on the puck as it slides harmlessly to the end boards.
• Brayden Point scores, and now Montreal has to go perfect the rest of the way.
• Caufield is stopped, and the comeback effort will stall.
• Montreal deserved better from the effort, but only losing one point to the Lightning with how the second period went is a good result.
• The Habs now get a day off before making the short trip to Sunrise on Tuesday.

EOTP 3 Stars

3) That could have made life much easier for them

2) If his sticks break next game we’ll know something is fishy

1) That might be a big point at the end of the season