Habs heading to Game 5 after Anderson scores in OT

MONTREAL -

Josh Anderson was the hero as he scored at 3:57 of overtime, leading the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Habs were able to extend their season by at least two days with Game 5 on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Tricolore is now 3-1 in the series.

Anderson scored twice and Alexander Romanov rounded out the scoring for the Canadiens, who earned their first Stanley Cup Final series win since June 9, 1993.

Barclay Goodrow and Patrick Maroon responded for the Lightning.

Carey Price had a solid performance, finishing his night with 32 saves.

At the other end of the ice, Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was once again solid, finishing the game with 18 saves.

Anderson opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the playoffs for the Habs with 4:21 to play in the first period. It was the first time Montreal had taken the lead in the series.

The Lightning nearly tied the game a few minutes later on the power play, but forward Brayden Point's sharp shot hit the shaft hard to Price's left.

Then the Tricolore players -- led by Brendan Gallagher -- got into it with the Lightning players after the first period's buzzer sounded, as if to send a message that they weren't going to fold so easily in this series. The table was set for the second period.

Both teams played tighter as they returned from the intermission, with several good shoulder shots being handed out on both sides. Talk to Captain Shea Weber, who reminded the Lightning, and Point in particular. 

The Lightning did not appear intimidated, however.

Victor Hedman first thought he had tied the game on the power play late in the frame, but his slap shot hit the crossbar behind Price.

Then the execution errors came back to haunt the Habs, and as interim head coach Dominique Ducharme said so often during the series, the Lightning made him pay -- courtesy of Goodrow, with 2:40 left in the second period.

Romanov then scored with 11:12 to play in the game to give the Red-Blue hope, and Maroon responded five minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.

A four-minute high-sticking penalty on Weber with 1:01 remaining in the third period opened the door for the Lightning.

Anderson, however, sealed the outcome of the game minutes after Weber's penalty concluded.

The habs are trying to become the fifth team in NHL history to erase an 0-3 deficit before winning a series, and only the second in the finals after the Toronto Maple Leafs did it against the Detroit Red Wings in 1942.

The Lightning failed to become the first team to sweep their rival in the Grand Final since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals. The Red Wings won their second straight championship -- something Florida will try to do in Game 5.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 5, 2021.