One can debate whether the Tampa Bay Lightning are victims of bad luck, but there’s no denying that their season is now on the line. The Montreal Canadiens won Game 3 by a score of 3-2 on Sunday, giving themselves a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
It looked like Anders Lindback would be an albatross in this one, as Rene Bourque (who had an excellent game overall) scored 11 seconds in:
As it turns out, Lindback was often excellent on Sunday, but his adamant effort wasn’t enough tonight.
Speaking of admirable hard work still falling short, Steven Stamkos shook off a scary spill in the second period to play - and even generate an assist - in the final frame. He finished the night with helpers on both Lightning goals. Here’s one more look at that scary fall:
It’s easy to gravitate toward the Lightning’s lousy luck, especially considering this disallowed goal:
Still, that takes a lot of the deserved credit from the Habs, who are one win away from some rest and a sweep. P.K. Subban stood out along with Bourque, dazzling with this assist on Brendan Gallagher’s goal:
I know a lot of the post-game talk will be about the officials, but that was a statement game from PK Subban.
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) April 21, 2014
Tomas Plekanec ended up notching the game-winner with an assist from Gallagher.
For all the adversity the Lightning have fought off in the regular season, they now need to win four games in a row to avoid a first-round exit. The odds certainly look long right now - especially if Stamkos can’t play once the adrenaline wears off - as they’ll attempt to salvage their season beginning with Game 4 on Tuesday.