{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 5, Montreal 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 28, 2019
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Jean Hebert
Linesmen: Matt MacPherson, Tony Sericolo
Attendance: 19092

Alex Killorn had two goals and an assist, and Victor Hedman had a career-high four assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night in Tampa, Fla.

Steven Stamkos and Anthony Cirelli each finished with a goal and an assist, and Mitchell Stephens also scored a goal for Tampa Bay, which extended its win streak against Atlantic Division opponents to 10 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 39 saves and also picked up his third assist of the season.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Max Domi, Ben Chiarot and Jordan Weal scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price finished with 25 saves.

Montreal dominated the start of the game, jumping out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Kotkaniemi and Domi, his fourth in four games. The Habs also outshot the Lightning 17-0 over the first 10 minutes. The sellout crowd at Amalie Arena let out a loud cheer when Tyler Johnson, playing in his 500th NHL game, finally registered a shot on goal for Tampa Bay.

The Lightning rebounded from the slow start to score four goals in less than 13 minutes to take a 4-2 lead. Killorn started the turnaround when he knocked in a rebound of a Ryan McDonagh shot with 59 seconds until the first intermission. Stamkos followed early in the second period with his 14th goal of the season and 800th point of his career, tapping in a rebound of his own shot that caromed off the glass straight out to the left side of the crease.

Stephens put the Lightning ahead, 3-2, with his first NHL goal, chipping in a rebound of his own shot that bounced in off the shoulder of Montreal left winger Artturi Lehkonen stationed on the right side of the crease. Killorn followed with his 13th goal of the season, firing in a wrist shot from the right circle off a drop pass from Cirelli.

Montreal cut it to 4-3 just 13 seconds later when Chiarot knocked in a rebound of a Brendan Gallagher shot for his fifth goal of the season. Cirelli put the Lightning back ahead by two goals with his eighth goal of the season 55 seconds into the third period, jamming in a rebound of a shot by Hedman.

The Canadiens cut it to 5-4 with 1:28 to go with a 6-on-4 power-play goal by Weal, pulling Price after Pat Maroon went off for a high-sticking penalty. But Montreal failed to garner another shot on goal the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Tampa Bay
Brendan Gallagher 2 Points Victor Hedman 4
Ben Chiarot 1 Goals Alex Killorn 2
Brendan Gallagher 2 Assists Victor Hedman 4
Jordan Weal 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Carey Price .833 Save Percentage Andrei Vasilevskiy .907
Carey Price 25 Saves Andrei Vasilevskiy 39
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 43 4 1-2 1-1 2 37
Tampa Bay 30 5 0-1 1-2 4 24
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Lightning have a W/L % of .389 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .526 after a loss.