NHL Game Summary - Montreal at Tampa Bay
Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - It isn't often the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning play a 60-minute game.
Twenty-six saves by Carey Price and two goals by Rene Bourque helped make this the rare case.
David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher also scored and the Canadiens beat the Lightning 4-1 Friday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
The Canadiens took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Sunday's Game 3 in Montreal.
"That's probably going to be their biggest game of the series," said Bourque. "They're going to come out hard and we're going to have to match their intensity."
They won Game 1 on Wednesday when Dale Weise scored 18:08 into overtime -- the fourth time in five meetings between the teams during this past season and the playoffs that one of their games was decided after regulation.
On Friday, all the goals came in the second and third period, the first three against Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback, who was pulled after Gallagher scored with 8:14 left.
Price was within 1:59 of his first playoff shutout in three years before Teddy Purcell scored on a power play.
"You focus on Game 3. That's all you can control," said Lightning forward Ryan Callahan. "These two are behind us. You go win Game 3, it's a brand-new series. ... The odds are against us but we have to go in there and show our character."
The Canadiens have two playoff wins for the first time in three years. They scored four times on just 26 shots, including 23 against Lindback, who had his moments early on but got the hook in the third period.
Brian Gionta, who beat Lindback on a short-handed breakaway in Game 1, had an even-strength break five minutes into this one but Lindback threw his right pad out to knock the backhand attempt away.
Later, on a Canadiens power play, he snared Max Pacioretty's shot from the left side with his glove, one of his 10 saves in a scoreless first period.
The Canadiens finally got through when Desharnais scored on a power play off a pass from P.K. Subban after Richard Panik went off for hooking. Subban's fake slap shot from inside the blue line moved Lindback to his left but not in time to stop Desharnais 2:34 into the second period.
Lindback went for a poke check on Bourque and missed, and Bourque tipped the puck inside the left post for a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.
Later, Price stopped Cedric Paquette from point-blank range with his left pad on the best Tampa Bay chance in some time, one of his 19 saves through the first two periods.
"With Price back there making the big saves it helps a lot. We just felt comfortable," said Gallagher. "We were able to execute our gameplan as well as we wanted and we got rewarded."
The Lighting turned the puck over in the neutral zone before Gallagher scored on a wrist shot after his first try was blocked. Bourque's second goal came against Kristers Gudlevskis on a wrap-around with 5:21 left.