Florence Labelle/NHLI via Getty ImagesThe Tampa Bay Lightning won Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final with a 6-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. The defending champions now have a huge 3-0 series lead. They are one win away of becoming the first team in the history of the Cup to win it back-to-back since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.Only four teams have won a series in NHL history after being trailing 3-0, with the Los Angeles Kings being the last to do it in 2014. This happened only once in Stanley Cup Final, when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings.Montreal is now outscored 14-5 in this series, despite Tampa's 74 shots against Andrei Vasilevskiy over the two previous games. The Bolts were able to score five goals from five different players, even with Lightning forward Alex Killorn (lower back) missing for the second consecutive game.Notable PerformersVictor Hedman D, Tampa Bay Lightning: 1 Goal. 1 Assist. 2 BlocksAndrei Vasilevskiy G, Tampa Bay Lightning 32 Saves, 3 Goals AllowedNick Suzuki, C Montreal Canadiens: 1 goal, 2 SOG and 2 blocksCarey Price, G. Montreal Canadiens: 24 saves, 5 goals allowedBolts Blitz HabsBlake Coleman scored a goal one-handed with less than two minutes remaining in Game 2 and the Canadiens were guilty of the hockey sin.Friday night showed that even though the Habs had learned their lesson, it was impossible for them to avoid repeating the mistake again. Twice.At 1:52 in the first period, Tampa's Jan Ruuta opened the scoring. He also ruined the first Stanley Cup game played on Canadian soil for a decade within a matter of seconds after puck drop. Victor Hedman scored a power-play goal to make it 1-0, but the lead was short-lived as the league's best penalty killer added another two minutes.It was a rare mistake by special teams for the Habs. Anthony Cirelli was able to screen Montreal's Carey Price with no defender present to move him. It was also the first mistake of the night.The Canadiens gave up several odd-man rushes. This put more pressure on Price and led to a flood of high-leverage scoring opportunities.It was again Tampa's offense that created an odd-man rush, and they immediately capitalized. Montreal again allowed a goal within the first two minutes. The Bolts were not content with just conceding a goal in the first two minutes. They scored a fourth goal only two minutes after Kucherov's eighth goal of the postseason.The Canadiens are on the verge of being eliminated due to a combination of an incessant Tampa Bay team and the failure to limit their mistakes.Vasilevskiy Strengthens Conn Mythe CaseGoing into the Cup Final, the consensus was that Price would win the Conn Smythe Award for playoff MVP. Price is long considered to be one of the top goalies in the league, with Vezina and Jennings Trophies as proof.Price had allowed only two goals or less in 12 playoff games prior to the Final. So far, he's allowed 13 goals against Tampa Bay in his three playoff games.It's actually the goalie on the other end of the ice, who is looking just like Conn Smythe's front-runner through three Final games. Vasilevskiy's insistence on the net has been just as consistent as his team’s offensive with the puck.He's 6'3" and 225 lbs, and is well-respected. But he's now playing at his best. This starts with a solid 1.89 goals allowed average, and 93.9 save percentage during the postseason.Vasilevskiy has saved 92 of the 97 shots he faced in the Cup Final. But it's not the quantity of saves that matters as much as their timing.Tampa Bay leads the series by a score of 2-1 in the three first games. In each instance, the Lightning scored the next goal. Vasilevskiy gave his team every support they needed on the back end.If he can keep it up, he may return to Florida with Conn Smythe.What's next?Montreal will remain the home of both clubs with Game 4 scheduled for Monday, July 5, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
