Speedy Tyler Johnson scored an unassisted shorthanded goal on a breakaway to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Tampa Bay Tuesday.
Johnson jumped on a puck that had been knocked off of David Desharnais’ stick as he entered the Tampa zone before sprinting off and tucking the puck past Carey Price on a nifty deke at 12:41 of the third period for his 23rd of the season.
Carey Price was forced to make a series of acrobatic stops up to that point to keep the score notched at 1-1.
Alex Killorn iced the victory with an empty net goal scored after the Habs pulled Carey Price while shorthanded with under a minute left.
The teams – which will likely meet in the first round of the playoffs – went into overtime tied 1-1 in their three previous games and this one looked like it was going that way too, thanks largely to Price's impressive netminding.
Ben Bishop was equally steady in the Tampa Bay net, facing a similar number of shots but few requiring the same acrobatics asked of Price.
The Canadiens opened the scoring when Brendan Gallagher slipped through defenders to poke in a big rebound off of Bishop’s pads in the slot. Alex Galchenyuk, who took the initial shot, and Mike Weaver earned assists on the tally, scored at 10:18 of the first frame.
The Lightning scored the only goal of the second period, a power play marker by Ryan Callahan at 9:19. Callahan skirted around Price’s blocker side to shovel a backhand home. Ondej Palata and Victor Hedman collected assists on the play.
Not only was the score tied going into the third, each team had been given three penalties and the shots on goal were virtually even, as The Lightning held a 21-20 shot advantage after two.
For reasons unknown Coach Therrien gave Norris Trophy winning defenceman P.K. Subban less ice time than the other pairings, as Subban and partner Francis Bouillon were on the ice even less than Douglas Murray and Mike Weaver. Subban was on the ice for just 17:48 in the entire game, well short of his customary ice time.
The Habs had little chance to make a comeback, as they racked up six penalties in the third, including one major to Douglas Murray for planting a vicious elbow on Michael Kotska, who was targeted in the head when entering the Habs' zone late in the third.
Kotska eventually got up after laying on the ice for some time and skated off on his own.
Murray, who had only 17 minutes in penalties for the entire season, was given a five minute major for the illegal check and could face a suspension for the hit.
The Canadiens are now 2-1 on their four game-road trip which ends Friday in Ottawa. After that, the Canadiens host the Red Wings, Islanders and Rangers with a only a single road game remaining, a visit to Chicago next Wednesday.
After the game, a mellow Coach Therrien said that while the game was not one of his team's better outings, he was happy that the team had clinched a playoff spot, one of the team goals set at the start of the season.
The Habs clinched the spot due to losses by the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils
