Texier, Gally heroes as Habs win Game 5 in Tampa Bay to take 3-2 series lead

Habs have a chance to finish their first-round series, as the Laval Rocket and Montreal Victoire begin their playoff runs.

A fifth straight one-goal game ended with the Montreal Canadiens beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to take a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven series.

On Wednesday night, Frenchman Alexandre Texier and veteran Brendan Gallagher were the heroes with the opening and game-winning Habs goals early in the first and third periods to win the back-and-forth chess match on Wednesday night in Florida.

Rookie shotstopper Jakub Dobes stopped 38 of 40 shots to help the Habs move within a victory of advancing for the first time since losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.

Old man Gally gets the call

With the Canadiens top line again unable to make an imprint on the series, it was up to secondary cast members and old faithfuls to do the scoring for the away team.

Enter Brendan Gallagher.

It didn’t take long for the longest-serving Montreal Canadien to make his mark on the series after being a healthy scratch for the first four games.

The 33-year-old winger, who entered the league when Ivan Demidov was seven years old, scored three minutes into the first period.

Forward Josh Anderson spoke about having Gallagher back in the lineup.

“You know what he’s going to bring on the ice every time he puts on that sweater,” said Anderson. “It was very exciting to see him get a goal on that first shift there, and give our team a boost. It gave our team a boost.”

“He’s born for this type of hockey. I’m happy for him that he scored and had a good game,” said Dobes.

Rookie forward Oliver Kapanen made way for Gallagher on the third line.

Gallagher, 33, has been a healthy scratch through the first four games of the series, continuing a pattern from late in the regular season.

“It’s the same now as it was my first year in the league; you just take nothing for granted,” said Gallagher after the game. “I know how good this group is, I know how deep they are, and so opportunities are going to be limited, [but] it doesn’t mean they’re not going to come. You just gotta be ready when they do.”

As has been the case all series, the teams traded goals throughout, with Dominic James’ goal for the Bolts 6:49 into the second, equalled by Kirby Dach 10 seconds later.

Jake Guentzel evened the score for Tampa Bay with under three minutes left in the period, and then Alexandre Texier snapped home a wrister a minute into the third.

Captain Nick Suzuki got the second assist on Texier’s goal, his fifth in the series, but he still has not scored. His linemate Cole Caufield was again silenced by Tampa’s stifling defence.

Muted affair

Unlike the penalty-heavy, intense contests in the first four games, the fifth in Tampa was a much tamer affair.

There were two penalties apiece in the first period and just two in the second (both Habs).

There were no penalties in the third period.

Even contest

Entering game 5, with two wins apiece, the Lightning and Canadiens were unbelievably evenly matched.

It’s not surprising for the teams that finished tied at 106 points after the regular season.

Before game five, both teams had 11 goals, six five-on-five goals and Montreal edged Tampa by one single shot: 94-93.

Dobes’s save percentage was .883 to Vasilevskiy’s .882, and the power plays for each team were Habs: 5/19 and Bolt: 4/20.

Game six is in Montreal at the Bell Centre on Friday.