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Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky was the Hab hero in game one as the 2022 number-one overall pick scored a hat trick for the Montreal Candiens to win in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Game one of the NHL playoffs between the Canadiens and Lightning was one for the special teams, with five of seven goals scored on the power play, including the winner.
The Canadiens drew first blood when Josh Anderson scored in the first period. Anderson scored again in the second, but his goal was disallowed due to a high stick.
It was just one of two even-strength goals all game.
Man advantage melee
The Lightning made the Habs pay with back-to-back goals from Darren Raddysh on the power play and Brandon Hagel, 30 seconds later, to pull the home team ahead.
The Slovak man-mountain, however, silenced the home crowd, not for the first time, with 24 seconds to play in the second with a snipe on the power play off a pass from Ivan Demidov.
Slafkovsky again scored with a man advantage in the third from Cole Caufield to put Montreal ahead again.
Hagel, however, slotted home his second, also on the power play, to tie the game at threes.
And thus it remained until the end of regulation.
Slafkovsky ended the night just over a minute into the extra period with his third of the night passed Andrei Vasilevskiy off a pass from Lane Hutson.
“I kind of saw an open space there, and decided to shoot it, and, thankfully, it went in,” said an understated Slafkovsky after the game. “We’re all happy but we have to still focus because we’ve got a game in two days so we have to prepare for that.”
Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki both ended the game with two assists apiece.
“Two really good lines going up against each other,” said Suzuki. “It kind of felt like it was just up and down the ice... It was important that we contributed, and the puck did its job tonight.”
The Lightning have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round three straight seasons after falling two wins shy of a three-peat in 2022.
The Canadiens, coached by Lightning icon and Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis, are seeking their first Stanley Cup since winning their NHL record 24th in 1993. They haven’t won a playoff series since the Lightning beat them in the Cup Final in 2021.
The Lightning host game two in two days on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
--with files from The Associated Press.
