As Lightning seek discipline, Canadiens search for even-strength offence in Game 2

Montreal Canadiens fans are getting ready for game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning with some attending a cathedral to watch.

TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to do something they haven’t managed all season in Game 2 — stay out of the penalty box.

Head coach Jon Cooper called out his group’s “stupidity” after costly penalties handed Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky three power-play goals — including the overtime winner — in Montreal’s 4-3 victory Sunday in Game 1.

Trips to the sin bin have been a season-long trend for the Lightning. They leaned into a nastier style after back-to-back playoff exits against the Florida Panthers, but that approach has come at a cost.

Tampa Bay piled up a league-high 1,207 penalty minutes this season, 229 more than the next-closest team. On Sunday, the Lightning took seven minor penalties, including an offensive-zone high stick from Jake Guentzel with 21 seconds left in the third period that set up the winner.

“The big one is obviously staying out of the penalty box,” centre Anthony Cirelli said after practice Monday at Benchmark International Arena. “They have a really good power play, so I think that helps if we can try and eliminate our penalties.”

“The penalties we took were kind of no-brain calls,” he added. “The high stick, too many men, those are ones that you put yourself in a bad situation, you give them a chance to call them. Got to be a little more disciplined in our stick checks and be a little bit more aware out there.”

If the Lightning clean that up for Game 2 on Tuesday, the Canadiens must find a way to generate offence at even strength.

Montreal mustered just nine five-on-five shots Sunday as Tampa’s second line of Cirelli, Guentzel and Brandon Hagel stifled the Canadiens’ elite top trio of Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

“There’s a lot more out there for us,” said Caufield, a 50-goal scorer who only registered his first shot partway through the third period Sunday.

Caufield added that his line — which combined for 262 points this season — can’t “cheat” and take ill-advised risks to force chances, especially at this time of year.

“A mature game is waiting for them to make the turnovers and for us it’s just taking care of the puck,” he said. “That’s just the way the games are played right now, it’s pretty tight and you’ve got to execute well on those opportunities. There’s a lot to talk about five-on-five that we can do better at, and we’ll do that for Game 2.”

Hagel took the Lightning’s well-executed game plan against the Canadiens’ top guns as a positive sign. And the mood in Tampa’s room remained confident, if the team can clean up its discipline.

“Listen, the sun came up this morning, we’re still in a series,” Hagel said. “I didn’t believe coming into this series we were going to sweep these guys. They got a good hockey team over there and we have that same belief, so what does that mean? We’re probably going to win one eventually.

“That was only one game, and we got a lot more to go.”

No panic

The Lightning’s penalty kill showed cracks after finishing third in the NHL at 82.6 per cent, but Hagel doesn’t see a need for an overhaul ahead of Tuesday.

“I don’t think you need to hit the panic button,” he said. “I think six penalties is too much, and you’re starting to kill six penalties — they get one, they get two, and maybe you’re gripping the stick a little bit tight.”

Carrier steps up

Canadiens defenceman Alexandre Carrier didn’t miss a beat in his return from a nine-game absence, even in a larger-than-usual role.

“It wasn’t an easy situation for him, but he looked like it was,” defenceman Kaiden Guhle said. “He did a great job. He missed a couple of weeks and came back and looked like he didn’t miss any.”

As the only right-shot defenceman in the lineup in Game 1, Carrier filled in for injured Noah Dobson on Montreal’s top pairing with Mike Matheson. The five-foot-11, 174-pound blueliner played 18 minutes 36 seconds with three hits and two blocked shots in a steady performance.

“He was unbelievable,” Caufield said. “Well-rested for sure, but I think he worked his ass off to get back and be in shape for this … Couple big hits, which is unlike him. He’s usually on the other side of those.”

HOME WOES

On home ice, the Lightning have one win and eight losses since the beginning of the 2023 playoffs.

“Yeah, that’s not a very good look,” Hagel said. “But at the end of the day, that’s just a stat. There’s a different group that comes in here every single year.”

Tampa Bay has also dropped six consecutive overtime games in the playoffs after Sunday’s defeat.

“That’s a tough one, because it was the opposite before that, and now it’s come into a tough trend,” Cooper said of both stats. “Something we have to fix.”

D’astous doubtful

Cooper said Lightning defenceman Charle-Edouard D’Astous was “doubtful” after he left Sunday’s game in the second period following a high hit from Josh Anderson.

D’Astous, a 27-year-old from Rimouski, Que., is playing his first NHL season after a journeyman career through the ECHL, AHL and the Swedish and Slovakian leagues.

“He’s a been a great story for us and for himself,” Cooper said. “You never want to have guys out.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press