If at first you don’t succeed…try, try again. That is the lesson that Nikita Kucherov put into practice in Game One of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night. After having a 
potential game-winning goal disallowed early in the first overtime period, Kucherov left no doubt about his chance early in the second extra frame. This one would stand and would give the Lightning a 1-0 lead in the series.
Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop and Montreal goalie Carey Price, both coming off shutouts in their previous games, continued their scoreless streaks into the third period of Game One.
Price would blink first, failing to stop a Tyler Johnson redirection of a Matt Carle point shot to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 2:34 of the third.
Pacioretty tied the game at 1-1 with 5:13 remaining when he streaked down the left-wing side and fired a wrist shot at the far top corner. Bishop snared the shot with his catching glove, or so he thought. The puck slipped out of the pocket of his glove and dropped onto the ice behind him as he held up his glove awaiting the whistle to stop play. The referee was in good position and immediately saw that the puck was loose. It bounced behind Bishop and then rolled into the net before he realized he didn’t have it.
Montreal dominated the play early, as Tampa Bay appeared to be suffering from the lingering effects of having played Game Seven against the Red Wings just two days earlier. Bishop made some big saves, and got a little help from a couple of posts, to hold Montreal off the scoreboard.
One such play led to a review, after a Canadiens power play chance led to a scramble in front of Bishop. The puck approached the goal line but the replay showed that Bishop extended his pad at the last minute and kicked the puck out before it crossed the line.
Tampa Bay seized the momentum late in the first period with a power play opportunity of their own. Price was also equal to the task, making numerous acrobatic saves.
Montreal’s best chances (aside from the early first period flurry) came while they were shorthanded. Max Pacioretty dangled through the defense and put a backhander on goal that Bishop turned aside with the blocker. Later in the period, on a two-on-one, Pacioretty set up Plekanec on a give-and-go play. Plekanec took the return pass to Bishop’s left and teed up a hard wrister, but Bishop made a beautiful glove save as he slid across the crease with his pads stacked.
Both teams had their share of chances to end the game in the extra period. The most prominent of these belonged to Kucherov, who pounced on a loose puck and walked in on a breakaway. Price stopped the initial shot, but Kucherov poked at Price’s pad in an attempt to force the puck into the net. Instead, he pushed Price’s pad and most of his body into the net, along with the puck. Referee Eric Furlatt ruled that the puck only crossed the line because Price had been pushed into the net, so he disallowed the goal.
Kucherov would get another chance early in the second overtime period. Valtteri Fillpula forced a turnover along the left-wing boards and centered a pass into the high slot. Kucherov was there and he managed to corral the puck on his backhand, pull it to his forehand, then fire a quick wrist shot past the glove of Price, winning the game for the Lightning at 2:06 of the second overtime period.
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