Lightning thrash Montreal, 5-1

In Montreal, four different skaters scored for the Tampa Bay Lighting on Saturday night i a 5-1 win over the Canadiens. “It was a weird game, lots of special teams, but we capitalized and it’s nice to collect some points,” Tampa’s Steven Stamkos (two assists) said.

Brandon Hagel hit for a double in the win and had three points on the night.

“His engine is going and he never gives up on pucks,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “He’s always around the net, just as both those goals he scored. It was kind of [Ondrej] Palat’s spot for a lot of years, and Hagel’s fit seamlessly in there and it’s been really good for us.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves in the Lightning win.

Tampa Bay improved to 20-9-1.

Nick Suzuki was the lone striker for Montreal, his goal came in the third period after the Lightning had taken a 4-0 lead.

“I feel like we talk about it before every single game, and as of late we’ve been taking way too many penalties and that’s got to stop,” Suzuki said. “We’re wasting guys’ energy killing penalties and it’s hard to kind of keep momentum like that.”

Tampa took a 2-0 lead on Hagel’s first of the game, and a strike from Nicholas Paul in the first period.

“It’s kind of an apprenticeship for us, a good lesson for us to see what we’re trying to become,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “They battle hard on the ice, they’re tiresome with their sticks, and that’s all connected. That takes time.”

Montreal dropped to 14-15-2 with their third straight loss; they are 2-5-1 in their last eight.

Tampa pushed the lead to 3-0 on a power play marker form Anthony Cirelli midway through the second period.

At 17:47 of the second, Hagel potted his second, off the power play for a 4-0 advantage headed to the third.

“I don’t know, the puck’s just going in the back of the net finally,” Hagel said. “No, I think our line’s been great together. We’re gelling well together. The power play there, the puck goes to the net and off my stick, and (Ian Cole) makes a good pass on the first one. And obviously you give the puck to ‘Kuch’ and it’s going to go in the back of the net.”

Nikita Kucherov scored at 18:01 of the third for the 5-1 final.