Despite their weak points going into a unique game, the Habs offered strong opposition to the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
Ondrej Palat scored in overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal side 5-4 on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.
Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime, moments after Jake Evans lost his balance leaving the zone.
Corey Perry tied the game with 20 seconds left in regulation time for the Lightning.
The Lightning played a similar trick to the Habs on Dec. 7, scoring two goals late in the third period to win 3-2.
Kale Clague and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, both with their first NHL goals, as well as Lukas Vejdemo and David Savard, scored for the Canadian (7-21-4). In his first game since November 26, Samuel Montembeault repelled 32 shots.
The Habs had nine players on the sidelines due to NHL protocol related to COVID-19. Seven other players are also on the sidelines with injuries.
The Habs had only four players who have salaries of over $1 million: forwards Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher, as well as defenders Savard and Brett Kulak. Only six of the 20 players in uniform - Drouin, Gallagher, Savard, Kulak, Nick Suzuki and Cédric Paquette - had at least 100 games of NHL experience.
In the Lightning camp, head coach Jon Cooper, goaltenders Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Anthony Cirelli were notably on the sidelines under NHL protocol related to COVID- 19.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Thursday, when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 28, 2021.
