Lightning weren't pretty against Canadiens, but messy did the job
TAMPA, Fla. -- To start, they looked in control, the Tampa Bay Lightning circling around the Montreal Canadiens on the ice and on the scoreboard, with their one goal lead turning to two, then to three.
To end, they clutched for dear life to avoid a tie, each man in blue scratching and scrambling to the final horn, no moment more fitting for the mood than the sight of sticks and bodies scattered everywhere near Ben Bishop after the clinching of a crucial penalty kill with 5:02 left, the puck placed safely outside their net thanks to acrobatics from Matt Carle, whose right skate blade was shattered in the sequence.
To start, they played well enough that their lead felt as if it could have swelled to at least 5-0, the large Canadiens contingent at Amalie Arena quiet as the Lightning buzzed like mutant bees near Carey Price.
To end, they dodged Montreal's own sting, the exhale moment coming when Steven Stamkos knocked in an empty-net goal with 1:05 left to ice the 4-2 victory Monday night, an old tormentor vanquished for the fourth time in as many tries this season.
Hockey can be a crazy game, but sometimes, messes within it are works of art, too. No one will mistake the Lightning's play in this key Atlantic Division matchup for a Picasso or a Rembrandt. But when two points are gained and a goose egg in the point column is dished up to the Canadiens, when a familiar rival is flicked away and booted out the back door, a muddy masterpiece looks the most gorgeous of all.
"We've been playing well against them this year, and it was no different tonight," Bishop said afterward. "It's obviously nice when you get a 3-0 lead. And then like I said, we kind of bend in the third there but don't break."
Before the bend, before Montreal's rally, there were the makings of a blowout. Early, the Lightning looked every bit the Eastern Conference contender many consider them to be. To begin, there were the first-period goals by Valtteri Filppula and Stamkos. Then Victor Hedman added another in the second, an early trickle of momentum becoming a flood.
But most here had to know that the Canadiens would never fade quietly into a hot night, their pride too large and the stakes too high. The chippy shoves started, with Brandon Prust leveling Bishop into the boards in the second period. Then Tomas Plekanec scored 11:10 into the second, followed by Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau doing the same just 34 seconds into the third.
That's when the Lightning buckled down and bucked up enough to win. They earned zero style points for their play after snatching a 3-0 lead, but this is hockey, not figure skating. Grit, not grace, is rewarded. Poise, not pretty visuals, does the job.
"Our guys have done it all year," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They've found a way when the chips have been down to battle back in a game and find a way. And they did it again."
How about these chips? Tampa Bay faced the prospect of losing three consecutive games this season for the first time at the worst possible moment. The Lightning were coming off a loss last Thursday at their Boston house of horror, followed by a defeat Saturday at home because of a flat effort against the Winnipeg Jets.
How about these chips? A loss Monday would have added to Montreal's lead in the Atlantic Division, with the Canadiens having played one fewer game -- Montreal has 70, Tampa Bay 71 -- and the hours growing more urgent by the minute. Instead, the teams skated away tied at 93 points.
"It was definitely a good response after a game where we didn't play very well against Winnipeg," Stamkos said. "So I'm definitely proud of the guys for coming out. We haven't had a problem all year getting up for these games."
Very true, and it has been seen in this building all season, against these Canadiens as well as other postseason dreamers such as the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. The Lightning may serve up a whoopee cushion against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes every now and then, but by gosh, they'll deliver fire when necessary.
The tussle with Montreal is far from over, by the way. The teams meet at the Bell Centre on March 30, and who knows what will be in the balance then? Who knows what will be present to claim?
"We know how close we are to Montreal," Cooper said. "It looks like there's a little battle setting up here down the stretch."
This act, important in its own right, went the Lightning's way.
It wasn't pretty. But effective? That's another story.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
