Game 13: Canadiens 1, Lightning 4

The Canadiens come back to Earth, with the Lightning taking a 4-1 victory over the good guys.  It started out so well though...

--That opening ceremony...  Oof...  Great job by the players, good to see Yanni Gourde help out his teammates at first, they were a little unclear there, and Gally, Phillip Danault, Thomas Tatar, Carey Price, all showing great personality with their charge.

--Jonathan Drouin tries a magical pass too often on the powerplay, instead of making the easy simple pass that keeps the puck moving and the opponents, tiring them out.  Too often, he tries to go cross-ice saucer through three penalty killers and it gets cut off and cleared out.  Keep It Simple Sir.

--Vasilevski is keeping them in the game early, he's already let in the de rigueur Max Domi early first-period goal, but also made two or three great saves.  Could be 3-0 easy.

Or 1-1, Carey had a puck dribble out of his glove and skitter just past the post.

--Great fast start by les Glorieux, the recipe still works.  They've got the Lightning on their heels.  Cash in one or two goals soon boys, while the going is good.

--I'm seeing what a couple people have said they're seeing lately, that Jordie Benn has played decently, certainly better than Karl Alzner.  A good pass to Charles Hudon to spring him on a breakaway, and a chance to walk in on the Tampa goal to get a good shot off, showing patience and headiness, didn't just crank it from the blue line in a panic, he took what the scrambling defenders gave him, a clear lane to the slot.  Too bad he missed the net.

--Not quite the classic Steven Stamkos from the circle, he wasn't in the classic pose or anything, but it was effective enough, Tampa ties it 1-1 on the powerplay.

--Nicolas Deslauriers took a penalty on a hit from behind on Ryan McDonagh, our first gem from the 2007 Draft we sent packing.  Nicolas doesn't quite have the same magic he had last season.

--That Tampa goal seems to have tilted the ice back, they're bottling up the Canadiens now.  Charles Hudon gives the puck away in his own zone, and J.T. Miller puts it in the back of Carey Price's net.

2-1 for the bad guys.  Charles has lots of time to make up for his mental error.

I had to step away from the keyboard for the rest of the game, but it continued pretty much the same way.  The Lightning had control of the game, and potted two more goals in the third, one early by Steven Stamkos on a line rush, and a double-insurance goal in the last five minutes by Yanni Gourde to close the books.

Any time the Canadiens threatened, Andrei Vasilevskiy slammed the door shut.  He stopped 34 of 35 shots, while Carey made 32 saves on 36 shots.

Noticed: Mike Reilly had three great chances, three wide open looks at the net, and each time he blasted the puck off target.  He needs to take a little oomph off his shot, to not try to drill it through the net, and instead just put it on target quickly.

Next, a New York swing Monday-Tuesday against the Islanders and then the Rangers.

ADDENDUM: Jean-François Tremblay of 'La Presse' states that the Canadiens merely ran into an augmented version of themselves in the Lightning, and lost.