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Lightning beat Canadiens to keep playoff hopes alive

sean leahy
Contributing writer
AP
AP

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, to remain in the hunt for the last Eastern Conference wild card spot heading into the final weekend of the NHL season.

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The Lightning were led by Yanni Gourde, who continued scoring big goals by potting a pair and Nikita Kucherov, who continued his Hart Trophy quest with his 40th of the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid in net making 26 saves, including this desperation stop on Alex Radulov.

After Tampa grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Canadiens clawed back. Artturi Lehkonen’s shorthanded goal cut the Lightning lead to 3-2 early in the third period; but 21 seconds later, it was Gourde finishing off a Cory Conacher pass to tally his fifth goal in his last seven games.

Friday’s win puts Tampa (92) one point behind the Maple Leafs (93), who play Pittsburgh and Columbus to finish out their season. The Lightning have one game left, Sunday afternoon against Buffalo. The hunt for that final wild spot also includes the New York Islanders, who are at 90 points and wrap things up against New Jersey and Ottawa this weekend.

All Toronto needs is two points out of their final two games to clinch. They will also clinch if the Islanders and Lightning drop two points. Buckle up for a fun weekend before Round 1 begins.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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