The Tampa Bay Lightning erupted in Montreal on Tuesday night, snapping their four-game skid with a commanding 6–1 victory over the Canadiens. A blistering first period set the tone as Tampa Bay rediscovered its offensive identity, while Montreal struggled to keep pace in front of a restless Bell Centre crowd.
The win lifts Tampa Bay to 17-11-2 on the season and delivers one of their most complete performances in weeks. Montreal, meanwhile, slips to 12-15-2, continuing a worrying pattern of slow starts and defensive lapses that analysts at TSN have highlighted throughout December.
Lightning Explode Early
Tampa Bay’s urgency was evident from the opening shift. Brayden Point broke his six-game goal drought with a top-shelf finish just 2:26 into the game, racing onto a bouncing puck and beating Montreal’s goaltender clean.
Moments later, Pontus Holmberg doubled the lead on a breakaway after stepping out of the penalty box — a play that immediately deflated Montreal’s early energy.
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay’s scoring engine, blasted home a one-timer at 17:12 to make it 3–0. According to ESPN’s NHL trackers, Kucherov continues to climb toward the top of the league scoring race.
D’Astous Shines at Home
The Lightning picked up where they left off early in the second period. Quebec native Charle-Edouard D’Astous crashed the crease and connected on a feed from Kucherov, extending the lead to 4–0 in front of friends and family.
Montreal finally responded late in the frame when Oliver Kapanen converted a rebound during a power play. The Canadiens fired 15 shots in the period but struggled to beat Jonas Johansson, who finished with 25 saves.
Raddysh Takes Over the Third
The third period belonged to Darren Raddysh. First, he ripped a shot off the crossbar and in to make it 5–1 just 82 seconds into the period. Then, with Tampa Bay on the power play, he fired a point shot through traffic for his second of the night.
The multi-goal performance marks one of the standout nights of Raddysh’s career, earning praise from Lightning analysts and pushing him up the team’s defensive scoring chart.
Point, Kucherov, and Raddysh all finished with a goal and assist, while Tampa Bay’s defensive structure — shaky in recent losses — looked composed and physical throughout.
For Montreal, the frustration continues. Coach Martin St. Louis’ side conceded three goals in the first period for the second time this month, a trend that local outlets including CBC Sports say has become a growing concern.
What It Means
This wasn’t just a win — it was a statement. Tampa Bay halted a worrying slide and reignited confidence heading into a critical stretch of the schedule. Their top players performed, secondary scoring emerged, and their defensive pairings looked synchronized for the first time in several games.
Montreal, meanwhile, faces questions heading home. Growing inconsistency, porous defensive sequences, and an inability to recover from early deficits continue to hinder their progress in the Atlantic Division.
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