Looking to reclaim top spot in the Eastern Conference standings, the Tampa Bay Lightning went into Montreal on Tuesday night and did what needed to be done. A very solid performance in the possession department ultimately resulted in what was an impressive 4-2 victory for the Bolts.
While Tampa and Montreal boast similarly stellar records, their journeys to this point in the season couldn’t be more different. Tuesday’s game was very indicative of that. The Lightning took control of the possession game and relied on their five-on-five play to earn them a victory. The Canadiens struggled in the possession department and relied on their goaltender to bail them out; Carey Price, of course, failed to do so on this occasion.
The following possession chart, courtesy of HockeyStats.ca, will help to illustrate that point:
#TBvsMTL 5v5 shot attempts (Corsi) chart courtesy of @HockeyStatsCa. Solid outing from the Bolts against a top team. pic.twitter.com/V9XRFFxHfl
— Michael Stuart (@hockeybuzzstu) January 7, 2015@hockeybuzzstu What'd I tell you?! What'd I tell you?!
— Michael Stuart (@hockeybuzzstu) January 7, 2015Montreal’s lead evaporated in the second period, as the Bolts really took control of the hockey game. It started with J.T. Brown’s second goal of the year, assisted by Jonathan Drouin and Brian Boyle. Brown, going hard to the net, was able to put a Drouin rebound past Carey Price to knot things up at one.
That ‘fourth’ line goal was a catalyst for more. After Brett Connolly got tangled up/interfered (depending on which team you cheer for) with Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban, who was still on his bench at the time, took the opportunity to jab Connolly with his stick. Connolly was visibly shaken, but the incident led to a Lightning power play.
The team made no mistake. The triplets teamed up for yet another beautiful power play goal, Tyler Johnson’s 16th marker of the 2014-15 campaign and first of two on the night. The Bolts weren’t done there.
Able to return after the Subban jab, Connolly got his revenge in the sweetest of forms with his eighth goal of the year. Assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Cedric Paquette, Connolly wired a fantastic wrist shot past Price to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead.
Quietly, Connolly is establishing himself as one of the NHL’s better scorers this year. In addition to driving possession for the Bolts, he is scoring goals at an impressive rate.
Among players who had played at least 200 minutes at five-on-five prior to Tuesday’s game, Connolly was ranked 31st overall in iG/60 (individual goals per 60 minutes of ice time) per Puckalytics.com. His goal against the Canadiens will only serve to boost him higher. Names below him on that rankings list include James Neal, Phil Kessel, John Tavares, and Marty St. Louis, just to name a few. Connolly has been very, very good for the Lightning whether anyone wants to believe it or not.
Tyler Johnson capped off the second period scoring party with his 17th goal of the year and second of the game at 19:38. That was really a backbreaker for Price and the Canadiens. Again, the triplets made their mark. Battling in the crease, Johnson was able to find the puck and poke it home for the 4-1 lead. Greasy goals count just the same. With the 17 goals and 45 points on the year, Johnson now sits alone in third on the NHL’s scoring leaderboard. He’s only three points behind the leader, Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek.
The Canadiens would get one goal back early in the third to make it a 4-2 game, but that was as close as they would come. The Bolts did their damage in the second period, and that was enough to sink Montreal’s ship. There was no lifeboat. It was over.
It’s hard to understate just how important Tuesday’s victory was for Tampa. While they do now sit two points up on Montreal, it should be noted that the Canadiens have two games in hand. These divisional games are key. The Lightning got the job done when it mattered most.
These regular season victories over Montreal don't make up for the pain caused by last year's playoff defeat, but they certainly taste a little bit sweeter than an average win.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.