Juraj Slafkovsky's hat trick lifts
Canadiens to 4-3 overtime win over the Lightning in Game 1
[April 20, 2026]
By ROB MAADDI
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Juraj Slafkovsky scored his third power-play goal
1:22 into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay
Lightning 4-3 in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday night.
Slafkovsky fired a snap shot from the left circle that beat Andrei
Vasilevskiy to the far side for his first career postseason hat
trick.
“It's pretty nice. I like that feeling,” he said. “Obviously, we
don't want to go to overtime. Hopefully we close out games before
that. But now we have to focus on the next game.”
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena, where
Tampa Bay has lost nine of its last 10 home games in the postseason.
The Lightning are 1-11 in their last 12 overtime games in the
playoffs.
“We took four offensive zone penalties,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper
said. “That wasn't over-aggression. That was stupidity. This is the
Stanley Cup playoffs. This isn't game 62. That's extremely
disappointing.”
Josh Anderson also had a goal for Montreal, and rookie goalie Jakub
Dobes made 20 saves.
“His style of play and energy and speed and physicality is perfect
for playoff hockey,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said of Anderson.
“He had a big night for us.”
Brandon Hagel scored two goals and Darren Raddysh also scored for
Tampa Bay.
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.
[to top of second column] |
Montréal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson (17) celebrates after
scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in
Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series,
Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Hagel’s power-play goal — a tip-in off a precise
pass by Jake Guentzel 8:58 into the third — tied it at 3-3 a few
minutes after Slafkovsky put Montreal ahead.
Slafkovsky’s shot from the high slot slid under Vasilevskiy’s left
pad for a short-lived lead. He one-timed a perfect seam pass from
Ivan Demidov into the net from the right circle to make it 2-2 in
the final minute of the second.
Raddysh tied it at 1 with a powerful slap shot in the second. The
Lightning went ahead 2-1 just 29 seconds later when Hagel picked up
a loose puck from the side of the net and backhanded a shot past
Dobes.
Montreal’s fourth line gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead in the first
when Anderson flipped a top-shelf shot into an open net.
Anderson also had a goal overturned by video review midway through
the second period. He deflected Mike Matheson’s slap shot past
Vasilevskiy but it was waved off because his stick was above the
crossbar.
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