HABS WIN GAME 1 IN OT! THEY TAKE A 1-0 SERIES LEAD

            Earlier tonight in Tampa, Florida, it was game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The heavy favorite going into this series is the Canadiens despite the Lightning winning 3 of 4 meetings in the regular season. So the Bolts are trying to upset the 24 time Stanley Cup Champions. But they didn't bring their A game tonight. 10 minutes in, Brown centered the puck to Kutcherov and he scored, 1-0 Tampa. 19 seconds later, Plekanec skated the puck into the offensive zone and took the puck to the left wing and fired a shot past Lindback to tie the game. The Habs dominated period 1, out-shooting the Lightning 14-4 in a tie game. 13 minutes into the second, Kostka left the puck behind his own net  for guess who, Steven Stamkos and he went end to end on the right wing and fired a shot past Price to give the Bolts the lead. 19 seconds again, Plekanec split the D and fired a shot off the post. It was almost dejavu. 3 minutes later, the Habs were killing a penalty and Captain Gionta had a breakaway, he was stopped and then put home his own rebound to tie the game. 

        The game was tied after 2 and the shots in the period were 8-7 Montreal. 5 minutes into the third, Eller took the puck to the net and scored to give Montreal their first lead of the night at 3-2. 2 minutes later, Prust turned the puck over to Killorn in the slot and he scored to tie the game. Then with under 9 to play, the Habs had a two on 1 and Desharnais played the puck to Vanek and he scored. Montreal leads 4-3. Back comes Tampa the other way and Killorn centered the puck to Stamkos and he scored. It's 4-4. The sea saw action continued. This game would need Overtime. The shots were 13-5 Montreal in the third. Late in the overtime period, the Habs had their best chance to win on a two on 1, Vanek centered the puck to Pacioretty and he hit the post. A few minutes later, Briere centered the puck to Weiss and he scored to win the game! 5-4! That was Weisse's first NHL playoff goal as the Habs lead the series 1-0. "I was surprised I was that wide open," said Weise.

        "We kept our composure," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "Our players stuck to our game plan and we got rewarded." The habs should have won this game in overtime, but average play by Price forced this game into o.t. But Price was good when he had to be in overtime. The play that stands out was a chance where the Lightning had 3 consecutive shots, but Price was up to the task as he made 21 saves. In the loss, Lindback made 39 saves and was the only reason that the Bolts had a chance in this game. Game 2 will be on Friday night at 7:08pm E.t on CBC.


Written by Andrew Di Pardo