@jayRecher
Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman & Ondrej Palat each scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 42 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Final matchup.
The Lightning now lead the series 2-0.
Coleman's goal ended up being the game-winner and it was one of the best goals in the history of the Stanley Cup Final.
Yeah, I said it.
With time winding down in the 2nd period, Barclay Goodrow fed a pass to the middle of the ice to a streaking Coleman. The Lightning winger dove Superman-style and knocked it past Montreal netminder Carey Price with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock to put Tampa Bay ahead 2-1.
The Lightning only had 7 shots in the first 26 minutes and change, but the 8th gave them the lead.
After some incredible work down low by Tyler Johnson, Cirelli wristed a shot from the point that somehow caromed off the blocker of Price and in to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
The Canadiens responded and eventually found the equalizer on the power play.
Following an interference penalty on Mikhail Sergachev - who laid a big hit on Artturi Lehkonen - Montreal forward Nick Suzuki threw a seemingly harmless shot on net that found its way past Vasilevskiy to tie it up at 10:36.
Tampa Bay put the game out of reach in the 3rd on a goal from Palat that was all about hustle.
Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson tried to throw a puck off the back boards to a teammate but Palat intercepted the pass and quickly fired a shot off of Price and in to seal the deal for the Bolts.
Neither team scored in the opening period, with the Canadiens outshooting the Lightning 13-6.
Tampa Bay did get a couple of power play opportunities but they were unable to cash in. Montreal also got a chance on the man-advantage after a four-minute high sticking call on Ryan McDonagh -- after he clipped Phillip Danault up high and drew blood -- but the Bolts were able to kill that one off as well.
Price stopped 20 of the 23 shots he saw on the evening.
Killer Out, Jo In : With Alex Killorn ruled out by Coach Jon Cooper after morning skate, Mathieu Joseph took his place in the lineup and skated on the 4th line with Patrick Maroon & Ross Colton. Johnson slid up to the 2nd line with Cirelli & Steven Stamkos.
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SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
NONE
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - Cirelli - (Johnson, Rutta) - 6:40
- Montreal - PPG - Suzuki - (Unassisted) - 10:36
- Tampa Bay - Coleman - (Goodrow, McDonagh) - 19:58
3rd Period
- Tampa Bay - Palat - (Unassisted) - 15:42
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PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
- Montreal - Petry - (Tripping) - 5:29
- Montreal - Byron - (Slashing) - 9:57
- Montreal - Byron - (Slashing) - 17:27
- Tampa Bay - Cernak - (Cross Checking) - 17:27
- Tampa Bay - DOUBLE MINOR - McDonagh - (High Sticking) - 17:32
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - Sergachev - (Interference) - 10:03
3rd Period
- Montreal - Perry - (Roughing) - 20:00
- Montreal - Perry - (Misconduct) - 20:00
- Tampa Bay - Cirelli - (Cross Checking) - 20:00
- Tampa Bay - Cirelli - (Misconduct) - 20:00
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What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning & Canadiens are back at it on Friday night in Montreal for Game 3 of this Stanley Cup Final matchup. Puck drop is slated for 8:00pm with the pregame show starting at 7:00pm on NewsRadio WFLA.
Photo: Getty Images North America
PHOTO : Getty Images