Thanks to Josh Anderson's goals, the Canadiens sent the series back to Tampa. They avoided a sweep. (3:30)Montreal Canadiens faced elimination in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday after they lost two games and had to settle for a penalty kill of four minutes heading into overtime.Most teams find it difficult. The Canadiens are perfectly on brand"Nothing was easy for us this year. Brendan Gallagher, a veteran forward, said that it wasn't going be easy to start this series. "We have accepted that it won't be easy here.The game-winning goal was scored by Josh Anderson less than four minutes into overtime. It was his second goal of night. With a 3-2 victory over the Lightning at Montreal's Bell Centre, the Canadiens avoided becoming swept in the Stanley Cup Final. The series was extended to Game 5 in Tampa, Florida by the victory. In overtime, the Lightning fell to 0-4 this postseason.Anderson stated, "We didn’t want to end the game tonight in front our fans." "We were expecting to travel to Tampa tomorrow. Everyone in the locker room expected it. We all packed our bags today. We just felt that we would win tonight, so we gave ourselves a chance. We will go there, do business and return home in front our fans. We are in a great place now."The Habs weren't in a good position late. Captain Shea Weber's high stick hit Ondrej Palat with 61 seconds left in regulation. This resulted in blood. This put Tampa Bay on a 4-minute power play that extended into overtime.The Canadiens went into Game 4 with a record of just five power play goals (90.6% success rate), after allowing 53 chances for them to score. In regulation, they eliminated all five Lightning power play goals.Anderson stated that "our penalty kill has been outstanding throughout the playoffs." Anderson said, "So we returned to the room and we just believed in one another. We didn't feel down. There were positive things around the room. It was just a matter of executing. We did an amazing job.Anderson also gave credit to Carey Price, goaltender for "being a wall back here," stopping 32 shots. This was Price's first win in the Stanley Cup Final, his 91st postseason contest. It is also tied for the second most postseason games played at that time by a goalie. Montreal had been expecting this Price. The 33-year old was not the best. He allowed 13 goals on 79 shots (.835 save rate), and a disappointing.833 save percent on low-danger shots according to Natural Stat Trick.Price stated that he could play better after Game 3. It's not enough. A reporter asked Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme if he would consider substituting Jake Allen for Price during the two-day pause.Ducharme, who was determined, reaffirmed his faith in the 14-year-old pro on Monday. Price didn't need any encouragement from the coach, he said."Nothing. Ducharme stated, "Just a tap on pads." "Pricey has experience and he's a competitor. We wanted to do better in front of him. He said what he meant and answered the bell tonight."The Canadiens have had a roller-coaster ride this season. In February, Coach Claude Julien was terminated and Ducharme took his place. However, the Habs had to rely on their interim coach, Ducharme, for the Stanley Cup Final. Ducharme was quarantined for 14 day after positive COVID-19 test results in the semifinal series. The Habs had the lowest winning percentage among all 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs due to a COVID-19 pause.Montreal was also 3-1 behind in the first round series against Toronto Maple Leafs, but it recovered to win it.Ducharme stated, "It's not surprising to me." "We've gone through a lot. It's something we have discussed. This is another challenge we face. We tried our best tonight, but it wasn't perfect. We still believe we can do better. That's what we will do in Tampa. It won't be easy.In Game 4, Ducharme made bold lineup choices that were all focused on speed. Ducharme moved Anderson to the line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and he also removed Jesperi Kotkaniemi (who has five goals in this postseason) in favor of Jake Evans. Ducharme also inserted Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak back in the lineup. This helped break a 1-1 tie.Romanov, a 21-year-old NHL rookie, signed with Montreal this season, having previously played in just two playoff games -- one against Vegas in the semis and once in Winnipeg's second-round series. Romanov had not scored a point since February 25, but he did score his goal.Gallagher's first point was not understated. The Canadiens haven’t made it easy on themselves in this series. They never led in this series, and Anderson scored with 4 minutes left in the first period. This was a streak that lasted 195:39 minute either tied or trailing.After another slow start at home, Anderson's goal gave the Habs some hope. In the first eight minutes, the Canadiens failed to score a goal. Tampa Bay led by 25-8 in shots attempted by the end of the first intermission. Barclay Goodrow's goal in the second period tied the score for the Lightning. This goal was a consistent theme in the series for Tampa Bay, since it came right after Ryan McDonagh made a Jeff Petry turnover.Mathieu Joseph set Pat Maroon up to score for a tie of 2-2 late in the third period. This also led to a turnover. According to Sportlogiq data, it was the 11th goal Tampa Bay scored in this series within 10 second of a turnover.If the Lightning had won Tuesday, they would have been in rare company. Although the Canadiens have been in 35 Stanley Cup Finals, only one visiting team (the 1989 Calgary Flames), has won the Cup at Montreal's home ice.Before the game, there was silence for Mattis Kivieks, the 24-year old Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender, who died Sunday from injuries sustained in a July Fourth fireworks incident.
