MONTREAL — Nikita Kucherov scored at 2:06 of the second overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Kucherov took a pass in the slot from Valtteri Filppula and beat Canadiens goalie Carey Price with a wrist shot to the glove side on the first shot of the period.
“Boyle made a good play and Filppula got it through the D’s legs,” Kucherov said. “He put it right in my wheelhouse. I just had to shoot.”
Kucherov was involved in a controversial call 3 minutes into the first overtime. His shot on a breakaway was stopped, and he bumped into Price as the puck went into the net, although it appeared the Canadiens goalie dragged the puck in himself.
After review, it was ruled Kucherov interfered with Price.
“I’m not going to complain about it,” Kucherov said. “I don’t think about it.”
Tyler Johnson opened the scoring for Tampa Bay early in the third period with his Stanley Cup playoffs-leading seventh goal, and Ben Bishop made 43 saves for the Lightning, who were coming off a Game 7 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
“It’s nice, but it doesn’t mean much,” Bishop said. “You’ve got to put it out of your mind pretty quickly. We have to get ready for the next one.”
Max Pacioretty tied it with 5:13 left on a wrist shot off the rush down the left side that Bishop caught but couldn’t squeeze with his glove. The puck dropped behind him into the net.
Price stopped 33 shots for the Canadiens.
Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday night in Montreal.
Thumbnail photo via Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports Images
