Tampa Bay erupted for four goals in the game’s first 13:50 Tuesday night, helping goaltender Matt Tomkins post his first NHL victory in the Lightning’s 5-3 win over the host Montreal Canadiens.
Starting for the third time in his career, the 29-year-old Tomkins — a former netminder at Ohio State — recorded 23 saves on 26 shots.
Nikita Kucherov continued to sizzle at the offensive end, providing the match’s opening goal and later adding an assist. He has four markers and seven helpers in the past three games.
The right wing, who has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 13 outings, has a point in 16 of his past 19 games against Montreal.
Nicholas Paul tallied twice, while local product Alex Barre-Boulet and Michael Eyssimont potted one apiece. Victor Hedman, Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos each had two assists.
The win ended the Lightning’s four-game road trip (2-1-1) on a positive note after wasting a three-goal lead in a 6-5 overtime loss Monday at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The visitors improved to 9-1-1 in their past 11 games against the Canadiens, outscoring them 44-26 in that span.
In the third period, Nick Suzuki, Michael Pezzetta and Christian Dvorak put the Habs back in the match with goals.
Starting goalie Jake Allen was peppered for four goals on nine shots. Sam Montembeault relieved and made 22 saves against 23 shots.
After taking a neutral-zone hit from Brendan Gallagher, Kucherov bolted in, received a cross-ice pass from Hagel and whipped home his 10th marker from the right dot just 22 seconds into the game.
Paul put the advantage to 2-0 when he found a rebound off Stamkos’ shot and popped his sixth tally into a wide-open net at 7:15.
The Lightning continued to pour it on at 9:09 on their first man advantage, as Barre-Boulet — a native of Montmagny, Quebec — scored his fourth goal in his first time playing in Montreal.
It managed to get worse for the Habs before the opening 20 minutes came to a close.
On the visitors’ ninth and final shot on Allen, Eyssimont banked in his fourth goal off the netminder’s back for his fourth tally with 6:10 remaining in the explosive frame for a 4-0 lead.
–Field Level Media
