First things first. Let’s give the Montreal Canadiens a lot of credit for their performance in this one. The Habs played a terrific road game. They were structured in their coverage, which took away a lot of time and space for Lightning players. They were effective in getting their sticks in passing lanes, so they repeatedly broke up Lightning plays all over the ice. They blocked 18 shots. And they limited Lightning scoring chances throughout the game.
But the Lightning also bear responsibility for how this game unfolded. Their passing was off, which also slowed their rushes up ice.