Lightning come up short in Game 3, lose 3-2 to Canadiens in OT: Takeaways
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy did everything he could to carry the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at Bell Centre on Friday night. It wasn’t enough. Vasilevskiy denied three Montreal breakaways in regulation, but he never saw Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson’s slap shot from the right point as it sailed past a host of bodies and into the net 2:08 into overtime to give the Canadiens a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Alexandre Texier, who opened the scoring early in the first period, worked the puck back to Hutson, and the 2025 Calder Trophy winner teed up a rocket that found its way through a half-dozen bodies and into the net. HUTSON IS THE GAME 3 HERO ‼️ Lane Hutson fires home the Subway Canada OT winner for the Canadiens in Game 3! pic.
twitter. com/RD5wyKxyQf — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2026 Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel scored for the Lightning. Hagel’s goal early in the second period put Tampa Bay ahead 2-1, but Kirby Dach got the Canadiens even at 12:43.
Vasilevskiy finished with 26 saves on 29 shots; Montreal rookie Jakub Dobes faced only 17 shots, stopping 15. It was the third straight overtime game in the series, a first for the Lightning since entering the NHL in 1992. The Canadiens hadn’t gone to OT in three straight playoff games since Games 2, 3 and 4 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Final – they won all three on the way to their most recent championship.
It was the first time any NHL playoff series opened with three straight overtime games since the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals did it in 2021. The teams split OT wins in Games 1 and 2 at Benchmark International Arena, with the Canadiens winning 4-3 in the opener and Tampa Bay evening the series with a 3-2 win in Game 2. The Lightning have not won consecutive playoff games since the 2022 Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers.
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