Penalty issues nullified a strong start for the Canadiens in Game Two against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Montreal Sunday as the Lightning trounced the Canadiens 6-2.

The loss was the Canadiens' seventh straight against the Lightning including during the regular season and leaves the LIghtning with a 2-0 series lead going to Tampa.

Canadiens' Norris Trophy candidate P.K. Subban said that his team's inability to score is a problem.

"We’re doing a lot of good things but we’ve got to find a way to finish around the neck. If we get a couple of goals earlier it’s a different story. We feel good about our game. We get into penalty trouble and give them opportunities to get in the game and they capitalize on it,” said P.K. Subban after the game. “Maybe they’re not scared of taking penalties because we’re not burying it.”

His fellow Assistant Captain Max Pacioretty said that the Habs might have deserved a win in the first game but this was entirely different. “Tonight I feel like we just gave it to them,” said Max Pacioretty who said that the next two games in Tampa will be a challenge.

“We’ve got to find a way to handle the adversity. We’re going to their building they’ve got a great crowd. It’s going to be two dirty games and we’ve got to find a way to come out on top," said Pacioretty.

The teams went into the first intermission deadlocked 1-1 but struggling sniper Steven Stamkos gave the Lightning the lead after wrestling a bouncing puck off of Andrei Markov and then streaking in alone on Price’s and deking onto the glove side.

Nikita Kucherov, who slayed the Canadiens with his winning goal in Game One, gave the Lightning a two-goal lead on a 4-on-3 power play as the Habs were unable to contain some quick passing in front of their net.

Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman scored his first of the playoffs with just 14 seconds remaining in the second period, potting in a pass while left alone to Price's right, as Jeff Petry sat in the penalty box.

Kucherov and J.T. Brown added third period goals for the Lightning while Tom Gilbert scored the second goal for the Canadiens in a game that already seemed beyond reach.

First period had promise

In the first period Habs defenceman Jeff Petry and Lightning Anton Stralman scored on wrist shots from a distance, as traffic in front impeded Ben Bishop and the Canadiens' Carey Price on the shots.

Petry told a reporter in between periods that his goal was the result of a team strategy to shoot more.

“We said that we wanted to get our forwards to the net and they’re working hard to get there. I saw a couple of guys battling so I tried to get the puck on the net,” said Petry.

Brian Flynn who replaced an ailing David Desharnais - suffering with flu-like symptoms - was stymied by Bishop on a pair of opportunities.

The Canadiens managed to get the better chances on a four minute penalty meted out to Brandon Prust and started in the same fashion after P.K. Subban was penalized for a scrum in the crease in front of Price. But then Stralman shot his wrist shot with just 24 seconds left high on Price's glove side to create the first-period draw.

The Lightning dominated the second period and cruised to the victory against a frustrated Montreal squad.

Coaches weigh in

“We got the start that we were looking for before we took some really, really bad penalties at the end of the first period. I thought we were perfect, indiscipline cost the team. This is unacceptable,” said Montreal Canadiens Coach Michel Therrien. “The special teams were very bad. They must be better.”

“It seemed the indiscipline took away our spirit and we didn’t play the right way,” said Therrien, who said that he considered pulling Carey Price, who received little help from his defence.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper seemed unhappy after the game in spite of the positive result. Cooper complained about what he thought was an intentional effort by the Canadiens to injury his goaltender Ben Bishop. “Maybe we’ve got to do a better job protecting, but you just hope your goalie gets through it and hes ok so I guess there’s no harm, no foul.”

Canadiens’ forward Brandon Prust complained after the game that referee Brad Watson verbally abused him at length all throughout the game.

"(Referee Watson) kept provoking me and came to the box and called me every name in the book, 'mother(expletive), coward,' he said he’d drive me out of this building but I said 'ok, ok, ok' and he kept on me and I said, 'yeah, yeah, ok.' I wasn’t looking at him. That’s the ref he is. He tries to play god. He tried to do that tonight," Prust told a scrum of reporters after the game.

CTV Montreal's Brian Wilde shares his insights in the game in his livestream Twitter feed below.