, who improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Carey Price stopped 22 shots for his 35th win of the season. Steven Stamkos and Cedric Paquette scored for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Lightning (60-16-4), who were playing their third game in four nights. Third-string goalie Edward Pasquale made 41 saves for Tampa Bay in his second career NHL game. Starter Andrei Vasilevskiy was on the bench after playing Monday, and backup Louis Domingue is out with a lower-body injury. Montreal got the win after Columbus lost 6-2 to the Boston Bruins earlier Tuesday night. Both teams are one point back of the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. The game was tied at 2 when the Canadiens went ahead to stay with a remarkable display of hand-eye coordination. Lehkonen batted the puck out of mid-air twice to beat Pasquale at 7:47 of the third. Domi made it 4-2 three minutes later, making the most of blown coverage by the Lightning. It was a bad start for the Canadiens, who fell behind just 2:28 into the first on an unlucky play. Seconds after Domi turned the puck over in his own zone, Stamkos' shot from the corner bounced off Domi's skate past Price. The Lightning were 39-3-3 when they score first. Montreal responded by putting immense pressure on Pasquale, who looked shaky to start the game. Thompson's first goal with the Canadiens made it 1-1 at 12:23. After Montreal's dump-in ricocheted off a referee, Paul Byron found Thompson in the slot. The Canadiens kept pressing but Pasquale grew in confidence with every save. The 28-year-old Toronto native denied Brendan Gallagher with his glove on a breakaway before stopping Byron on a break exactly one minute later. The Lightning then grabbed a 2-1 lead 4:18 into the second period on Paquette's 13th of the year. Armia tied it again on a superb individual effort at 7:32 when he split the Tampa defense and fired his own rebound past Pasquale from a tight angle. Both goalies traded outstanding saves in the third period to keep their teams in the game. Gallagher hit the post five minutes into the frame. NOTES: Tampa Bay was without injured defensemen Victor Hedman (upper body) and Dan Girardi (lower body). ... Rising tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime was in attendance at the Bell Centre. UP NEXTLightning: Visit Toronto on Thursday night. Canadiens: Visit Washington on Thursday night.)
Time: 7:30 PM EDT Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, PQ, Canada, H3B 5E8 / As the Montreal Canadiens attempt to chase down an Eastern Conference wild-card spot, they would be happy if Tuesday's game against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning ends up being a playoff preview. Montreal (42-29-8, 92 points) enters Tuesday just a single point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the final wild-card position, and two points back of Columbus for the top wild-card slot. All three have just three games remaining on the schedule, promising an exciting conclusion to the stretch run. The Canadiens have done their best to make it a photo finish, posting a 5-1-1 record over their last seven games. The record includes a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, as Montreal outshot one of the Western Conference's top teams by a dominant 44-24 margin." It could have been one of our better games all season," goaltender Carey Price told reporters after Saturday's game. "I thought right from the start of the game that we seemed to be firing on all cylinders and playing well. Everybody contributed tonight." Price made 23 saves against the Jets to deliver yet another strong performance amidst what has become an iron-man stretch of goaltending. Price has played in 26 of Montreal's last 27 games (25 as a starter) and he'll surely be called upon once more against league-leading Tampa Bay. The situation in net for the Lightning is less settled, as rookie Eddie Pasquale may be in line to make his second career NHL start. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves in Tampa Bay's 5-2 win over Ottawa on Monday, and since Vasilevskiy isn't likely to start on consecutive nights with the postseason looming, Pasquale will probably get the nod against Montreal. Pasquale was called up from the AHL on Monday when backup goalie Louis Domingue was scratched with a lower-body injury. With a first-place seed long clinched, the Lightning (60-15-4, 124 points) enter their final three games simply trying to get in top form for the playoffs. While star defenseman Victor Hedman (upper-body injury) likely won't play again until the postseason, Tampa Bay could get some reinforcements on the blue line if Anton Stralman and Dan Girardi can return from lower-body injuries." Stralman's going to play on this (road) trip, and hopefully we'll have a Girardi sighting at some point, maybe at the tail end," Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters. "Guys are progressing. Our goal is to have everybody back by whatever day Game One is, and we're taking the steps to make sure that happens." Stralman has missed 13 of the Lightning's last 14 games, while Girardi has missed Tampa Bay's last 11 contests. While the Lightning are looking ahead to their pursuit of the Stanley Cup, they can also do further damage to the regular-season record book. Tampa Bay can still match or surpass the 1995-96 Red Wings' league record of 62 wins. Three more victories would also give the Lightning 130 points, the third-highest single-season points total in NHL history. The Lightning have won all three meetings with the Canadiens this season. Montreal is 1-5-2 in its last eight games against Tampa Bay.--Field Level Media
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