Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov celebrates after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena.Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
The Canadiens got off to a rocky start in the Stanley Cup final on Monday, losing to the Lightning 5-1 at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa.
The defending Stanley Cup champions got two goals from Nikita Kucherov and one each from Eric Cernak, Yanni Gourde and Steven Stamkos to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that determines the champion of the National Hockey League. Game 2 will be played on Wednesday night, again on Tampa Bay’s home ice.
Defenceman Ben Chiarot, who had not scored in 17 games this postseason, gave Montreal life late in the second period when he whacked a slap shot at the net from 42 feet away and had it pinball around and bounce off an opposing player into the net.
The opportunistic Lightning capitalized on the Canadiens mistakes and pulled away with three goals in the third.
“We have to limit our mistakes and we’ll be fine,” Montreal’s acting head coach, Luke Richardson, said. He took over behind the bench during the semi-finals when interim head coach Dominique Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19. “We have to clean up our puck management. We were just sloppy.
“We know we can play better. That’s the point we are going to key on and look forward to the next game.”
Tampa Bay has reached the final three times over the last seven years. If it wins, it will follow Pittsburgh Penguins as the last team to win the Stanley Cup back to back. The Penguins won in 2016 and 2017.
The Canadiens finished 18th in the regular season in winning percentage (.527) but mowed down the Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights in previous playoff rounds. This is their first appearance in the final since they won in 1993. They are the last Canadian team to hoist the iconic trophy.
They looked out of sorts at the start on Monday night, settled down for a bit in the second period, and then had the wheels fall off over the last 20 minutes.
“It is the first game of a seven-game series,” Josh Anderson, a right wing for Montreal said. The Canadiens lost the opener against the Golden Knights but closed out the series in six games. “We have to use what we did in Vegas and bounce back in Game 2.
“Our effort is there, but we can do a lot more.”
If Game 1 is any indication, it looks like a tall task. Carey Price, who came into the game with a 12-5 record and a .934 save percentage during the postseason, was shelled for five goals on 26 shots. Andrei Vasilevskiy, the fellow Vezina Trophy-winner in Tampa, had to make only 18 saves.
In a fast-paced first period, it was the Lightning that jumped out in front. Cernak, a defencerman who had not scored in 46 postseason games, deflected a shot by Brayden Point past Carey Price a little more than six minutes after the puck drop.
The Canadiens entered the night 11-2 in games where they scored first during the playoffs but only 1-3 when their opponent gets out in front. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, improved to 13-2 when it plays with the lead.
Montreal got a power play 4 minutes 39 seconds before the first intermission but was unable to even register a shot. The period ended with Tampa Bay on a power play after Chiarot was called for crosschecking Kucherov.
The Lightning started the second with a man-advantage for 1 minute 14 seconds but failed to capitalize. It was an NHL-record 31st consecutive penalty kill during the playoffs for Montreal.
Tampa Bay increased the lead to 2-0 when Gourde tipped in a shot by Blake Coleman with 14:13 left in the second.
Vasilevskiy, who posted shutouts in Games 5 and 7 at home against the Islanders, made a big save on Shea Weber on a hard wrist shot on a 2-on-1 with Brendan Gallagher that could have trimmed the lead.
Price kept the Canadiens close with a beautiful glove save on Stamkos, the Tampa Bay captain.
Chiarot then scored on a play where the puck was deflected twice 2:20 before the teams went to their dressing rooms for the second intermission.
The Canadiens were within striking distance then, but the Lightning wore them down and lit them up in the final period. Kucherov scored on a backhand only two minutes in, and then scored another with 8:35 left. He leads all scorers during the postseason with seven goals and 23 assists. Stamkos closed out the scoring with 1:10 remaining.
The game was preceded by a 50-minute news conference from Amalie Arena presided over by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
Bettman said the league plans to resume a normal schedule during the 2021-22 season beginning in the first two weeks of October. The commissioner said it remains unknown whether NHL players will participate in the Winter Olympics.
“We don’t know, and that is causing us a fair number of issues getting next season up and running,” Bettman said. If the players went to Beijing in February, it would necessitate a stoppage in play for several weeks. “We have real concerns whether our players should be participating.”
Daly said there are concerns about COVID-19, and travelling halfway around the world.
“It is still a work in progress,” Daly said. “Time is running very short.” Bettman also defended the league’s referees and linesmen, who have come under intense criticism for poor calls and missed calls during the playoffs.
“Our officials are not only the best in the world, they are the best in sports,” he said. “They occasionally miss calls, but not as often as people suggest. Overwhelmingly our officials get it right.
“Would we prefer perfection is achieved? Yes. Is it possible? Of course not.”
Montreal was without forward Joel Armia, who was placed on the NHL’s COVID list on Sunday. Armia tested negative on Monday morning and flew to Tampa on a private jet but did not dress for the game.
In his place, the Canadiens inserted forward Jake Evans. Evans hadn’t played since he sustained a concussion on a hit from Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele in Game 1 of the second round.
“I just focused on not rushing back,” Evans said. “I wanted to take my time with it.”
Evans said Scheifele, who was suspended for the rest of the series, reached out to him.
“I want to look forward and not talk about the hit,” Evans said. “Maybe once the season ends.”
Bad blood boiled over late in the contest. Gallagher left bleeding profusely from the forehead after being driven into the ice head-first by Blake Coleman. There was plenty of scrapping back and forth as time wound down.
The game ended with the Lightning in command and the Canadiens a bit frustrated, mostly at themselves.
The line of rookie Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli had an especially tough night. All three players were on the ice for three of Tampa Bay’s goals.
“I think we had chances when the game was close and if we had buried them it might have changed things,” Montreal defenceman Jeff Petry said. “When they got their third and fourth goals we started to push things and they took advantage of it.
“I don’t think it was a blowout by any means.”