By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Juraj Slafkovsky had the most terrific start to a playoff series, and that’s to secure a playoff hat trick for the Montreal Canadiens.
Three power play goals to help the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime at the Benchmark International Arena on Sunday night. The 22-year-old, first overall pick from the 2022 draft, put the team on his back. Slafkovsky is in his fourth season with Montreal and posted a career-high 73 points (30 goals, 43 assists) during the regular season.
Momentum in the game shifted when Slafkovsky scored the second goal for the Canadiens with 23 seconds left in the second period. The goal tied the game at 2-2. The Canadiens went into the locker room feeling great after that shot. It helped them prepare for the third period.
Slafkovsky came out of the third period and responded with another power-play goal on another snap shot to put Montreal up 3-2. Brandon Hagel, who scored in the second period for the Lightning to give them the lead, tied the game with a tip-in shot.
In overtime, Canadiens head coach Martin St Louis, who once played for the Lightning and is a legend in that organization, made a clutch decision to call a timeout before the game-winning goal by Slafkovsky. He probably did that to give the players some rest. Whatever his reasons were, it worked out in Montreal’s favor.
Both teams performed well on power-play possessions. The Canadiens and Lightning combined for five power-play goals. Other players to score goals were Josh Anderson in the first period with a wrist shot. Darren Raddysh shot a 92 miles per hour to the net. Montreal won 61 percent of its faceoffs.
Slafkovsky became the third-youngest player in the franchise’s playoff history with a hat trick. The Canadiens and Lightning will play in Game 2 on Tuesday at 7 pm.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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