3 ways the Lightning can flip the script vs. the Canadiens in Game 2

No playoff series is won in just one game. And though the Lightning's 4-3 overtime loss to the Canadiens in Game 1 offered an all-too-familiar pattern of self-inflicted mistakes and missed opportunities, this team is battle tested enough to know the first-round series is far from over.

"Listen, the sun came up this morning, we're still in a series, and at the end of the day, I didn't believe coming into this series, we were gonna sweep these guys," Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel said Monday. "They've got a good hockey team over there, and we have that same belief.

"So what does that mean? We're probably gonna win one eventually. Don't know when it's gonna be, but we're going to come in and try to execute our game plan as much as we can do to the best of our ability, and that'll give us a chance to win."

The Lightning do have a smaller margin for error. They have to win four of six to advance, and they've got to figure out a way to steal a game in Montreal. But playoff series are about game-to-game adjustments, and the Lightning spent Monday's day between games not only on the ice but in the film room breaking down what worked and what didn't, while trying to anticipate what's to come.

The disappointment of Sunday's loss won't break the Lightning's confidence. They know the bad penalties they took that led to three power-play goals are easily correctable, and they are certain that a penalty-kill unit ranked third in the league during the regular season will have better days than it did in Game 1.

Here are three things the Lightning need to do to get back into the series:

Have faith in the 5-on-5 game plan

While Sunday's game was decided by special teams, the argument could be made that the Lightning played the better 5-on-5 game. They out-attempted (34-28) and outshot the Canadiens (13-9) in 5-on-5 play.

Before Conor Geekie took a penalty that led to the first of Juraj Slafkovsky's three power-play goals late in the second period, the Lightning had held Montreal to just five shots on goal. And the line of Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Jake Guentzel shut down the Canadiens' top line of 50-goal scorer Cole Caufield, 101-point scorer Nick Suzuki and 30-goal scorer Slafkovsky to just one shot on goal in 5-on-5.

They might not have that kind of success against Montreal's big guns throughout the series, but if they put the pressure on the Canadiens' forward depth to score, it's a recipe for success.

Ride the power-play momentum

The Lightning were 1-for-35 on the power play going back 12 games before they broke through with power-play goals in their last two man advantages of the game. Look at it this way: Just one game in, the Lightning already have as many power-play goals this postseason as they did in last year's playoff series against Florida, when they were 2-for-18.

Their success all comes down to Nikita Kucherov. On both power-play goals, Kucherov was able to move around and lull penalty killers his way to set up scores by Darren Raddysh and Hagel. The Canadiens are forced to account for Kucherov, and it should open up more space to get players like Brayden Point and Guentzel going.

At the same time, the Lightning power play can't get too tactical. They're great because of the weapons they have, and sometimes they try too hard to find the perfect shot. Stay aggressive and get pucks on net.

Win the third period

It's not always how you start. It's how you finish, and even with the mistakes they made, they outplayed the Canadiens through the first two periods Sunday. But timing is everything, and the Canadiens have been able to make big plays against the Lightning all season in the third period, especially in the waning moments of regulation.

The Lightning blew a three-goal lead in the final 10 minutes on Dec. 28, including Slafkovsky's tying goal with four seconds left. A costly own-zone turnover gift-wrapped the final regular-season meeting April 9 for Slafkovsky with 64 seconds left in the third. And Guentzel's bad high-stick penalty in the final minutes Sunday ended up dooming the Lightning.

When the margins are thin, it comes down to who makes the big play down the stretch. The Lightning have done that against other teams, batting back from third-period deficits, but they need to make those big plays late against the Canadiens.

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 6:53 PM.