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04/19/26 08:15:00
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04/19 20:13 CDT Juraj Slafkovsky's hat trick lifts Canadiens to 4-3 overtime
win over the Lightning in Game 1
Juraj Slafkovsky's hat trick lifts Canadiens to 4-3 overtime win over the
Lightning in Game 1
By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) --- Juraj Slafkovsky scored his third power-play goal 1:22
into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in
Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday night.
Slafkovsky fired a slap shot from the left circle that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy
to the far side for the hat trick.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena, where Tampa Bay has
lost eight of its last nine home games in the postseason.
Josh Anderson also had a goal for Montreal and rookie goalie Jakub Dobes made
20 saves.
Brandon Hagel scored two goals and Darren Raddysh also scored for Tampa Bay.
The Lightning have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round three
straight seasons after falling two wins shy of a three-peat in 2022.
The Canadiens, coached by Lightning icon and Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St.
Louis, are seeking their first Stanley Cup since winning their NHL record 24th
in 1993. They haven't won a playoff series since the Lightning beat them in the
Cup Final in 2021.
Hagel's power-play goal --- a tip-in off a precise pass by Jake Guentzel 8:58
into the third --- tied it at 3-3 a few minutes after Slafkovsky put Montreal
ahead.
Slafkovsky's shot from the high slot slid under Vasilevskiy's left pad for a
short-lived lead. He one-timed a perfect seam pass from Ivan Demidov into the
net from the right circle to make it 2-2 in the final minute of the second.
Raddysh tied it at 1 with a powerful slap shot in the second. The Lightning
quickly went ahead 2-1 just 29 seconds later when Hagel picked up a loose puck
from the side of the net and backhanded a shot past Dobes.
Montreal's fourth line gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead in the first when Anderson
flipped a top-shelf shot into an open net.
Anderson had another goal overturned by video review midway through the second
period. He deflected Mike Matheson's slap shot past Vasilevskiy but it was
waved off because his stick was above the crossbar.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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