Lightning on the brink of elimination after another home playoff loss

TL;DR

The Tampa Bay Lightning face elimination after a 3-2 home loss to the Montreal Canadiens, falling behind 3-2 in the playoff series. Game 6 is set for Friday in Montreal, where the Lightning aim to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit.

Key points

Lightning lost 3-2 to Canadiens in Game 5
They are on the brink of elimination in the playoffs
Game 6 will be played in Montreal
Alexandre Texier scored the winning goal
Lightning have lost 10 of their last 12 home playoff games

Tampa Bay LightningMontreal Canadiens

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Another home loss in the playoffs has the Tampa Bay Lightning on the brink of an early vacation once again. Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed a fluke goal on the day he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy, the Lightning struggled to win faceoffs, lucky bounces went the other way and they lost to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Wednesday night to fall behind 3-2 in the series. Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth straight first-round elimination since falling two wins short of a Stanley Cup three-peat in 2022. “We got to drag them back here,” forward Corey Perry said. “You know it’s going to be a hostile environment. It’s loud but block it out and just go play. We found a way last game there. We got to do it again.” The Lightning won Game 4 in Montreal but have lost 10 of their last 12 home games in the playoffs. Alexandre Texier scored the winning goal 1:06 into the third period on a slap shot from the left circle that bounced off Vasilevskiy’s glove and trickled behind one of the NHL’s best goaltenders. Lightning coach Jon Cooper blamed the goal on the defense. “It stems way before that. It doesn’t stem from when Texier gets down the ice. It stems from the change and how we went about it and the mistakes we made on the way there,” Cooper said. “Forever, all Vasy does is bail us out of those. The rare time sometimes he doesn’t. He should’ve never got that deep into our zone and he got a lot on it. It wasn’t like Vasy got beat. He had it and it took a Montreal bounce, unfortunately for us. The Canadiens dominated the faceoff circle, winning 66%. In another tight game - all five have been decided by one goal and the first three went to overtime - every puck possession matters. “Possession is huge,” forward said. “There’s not a lot of room out there. Starting with the puck is massive.” The Lightning had 40 shots on rookie goaltender but only Dominic James and could get the puck past him. They had shots hit the post, crossbar and had the puck bounce over his stick with an open net. “We need other guys to score and haven’t been able to do it,” Point said. “It is frustrating. Just got to keep doing the right things and keep working hard.” The Lightning have lost their last two elimination games. If they can win again in Montreal, they’ll host Game 7 on Sunday. “I understand the next game is a potential elimination game but the last game we played there, we lose that one and we’re down 3-1 (and) you’re really chasing the series,” Cooper said. “They’ve been in that building twice now and have a pretty good feeling of what to expect. How it’s going to go? I can’t say for sure but I’ll bet we play better than we did tonight.” \\_ AP NHL playoffs: and

Q&A

What is the current playoff series status for the Tampa Bay Lightning?

The Lightning are down 3-2 in the playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens.

Who scored the winning goal for the Canadiens in Game 5?

Alexandre Texier scored the winning goal for the Canadiens just over a minute into the third period.

When and where is Game 6 of the Lightning vs. Canadiens series?

Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night in Montreal.