TAMPA — Two games, two overtimes. Montreal-Tampa Bay is a banger of a series.

J.J. Moser scored 12:47 into overtime to help the Lightning rally back for a crucial, perhaps season-saving 3-2 win to tie the series 1-1 in what was an absolutely wild night filled with fights and nastiness between both clubs.

“A fun series right now,” Tampa head coach Jon Cooper said. “You can tell it’s a couple of teams that care. I think this one’s far from over.”

Brandon Hagel scored his third goal of the series as part of a Gordie Howe hat trick, very much leading the charge as the Lightning tried to impose themselves physically on the Canadiens.

“Everyone in the room knows we’re good when we play with emotion,” Hagel said. “Not just myself but guys are willing to bring everyone in the fight and that was what I was trying to do a little bit. Obviously it worked.”

Nikita Kucherov ended a 16-playoff-game goal drought in timely fashion, tying it 2-2 at 12:33 of the third period on a wrap-around.

Stick tap to head coach Jon Cooper for swapping Kucherov’s line with Jake Guentzel in the third period in an attempt to spark the Tampa offense. Kucherov found a little magic skating alongside Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel.

Cooper, however, will be second-guessed for having rugged fourth-liner Scott Sabourin on the ice late in the third period of a tie game. Sabourin took a dumb penalty that handed the Canadiens a chance to ice it on the power play. But Tampa Bay’s third-ranked PK saved the day.

“Lineup changes throughout the playoffs are something that’s commonplace,” Cooper said. “Sabby has a definite role on this team. He finds his way on the scoresheet, just in different sections of it. The team plays a bit bigger when he’s in the lineup. He knows his role, he’s exceptional on the bench.

“And for 58 minutes he kind of held it together,” Cooper added with a laugh.

Lane Hutson and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens, who led 2-1 entering the third period but couldn’t close the deal. Still, it was another solid road performance by a young team not showing any signs of not being able to handle this stage.

The Lightning were staring down a 2-0 series deficit heading to what will be a wild scene in Montreal for Games 3 and 4. They absolutely needed to find a way to win Tuesday night and the veteran team got it done. And they did it playing the kind of fight-filled game that has been present so often this season.

Still, mission accomplished for the young Canadiens, who head home with a road split and remain in excellent shape ahead of what will be an incredible atmosphere at the Bell Centre this weekend.

A Dach error that cost the Canadiens

Canadiens forward Kirby Dach played just 10:53 in the game, but he jumped on the ice for his third shift of overtime at 12:02. An NHL shift should last roughly 40 seconds, and 40 seconds after he jumped on, Dach collected the puck and flipped it into the Lightning zone to get a change. The problem with the play was two-fold: one, Dach did not gain the red line before flipping that puck and two, he flipped it hard enough that it crossed the Lightning goal line.

Icing.

Dach simply had to gain that red line, or he had to flip it softer. One or the other, and he did neither.

“He was at the end of his shift,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “But for sure, you can’t have an icing like that.”

On the ensuing faceoff, with Dach, Alex Newhook and Alexandre Texier now facing an unfavorable matchup on a defensive zone faceoff against Cirelli, Hagel and Kucherov, the faceoff was won back to Moser, Dach went out to challenge and immediately lost his man, allowing Moser to walk into a shooting position unbothered and score the winning goal.

“He was kind of at the end of his shift and he’s trying to do the right thing, and he just put a little too much meat on it,” Suzuki said. “You hope to defend after the faceoff, Kirby just missed a stick check there at the blue line and the D-man had a little bit of space to shoot it. Just little things.”

Kucherov’s goal drought ends

It seems crazy to even think but Kucherov had gone 16 playoff games without scoring a goal before his tying, wrap-around effort in the third period Tuesday night made it 2-2. He didn’t score in Game 1 (though he had two assists) after not scoring in either of the five-game series losses to Florida in 2024 and 2025. His last playoff goal goes back to April 2023 in Game 1 of a first-round series with Toronto.

Head coach Jon Cooper moved Kucherov around a few times Tuesday night trying to get him more touches. He took a fourth-line shift in Sabourin’s spot in the first period, and also got moved to Anthony Cirelli’s second line in the third period as Tampa looked to spark the offense. But also, spark Kucherov, who had a monster regular season with 44 goals and 86 assists and for sure will be a Hart Trophy finalist. And it worked: Kucherov scored while on that line with Cirelli and Hagel.

It should be said his regular center, Brayden Point, doesn’t look 100 percent. He missed the Olympics with a knee injury and it sure looks like it’s still hampering him to some degree.

Fists flying

The Lightning were sending a message when they inserted Sabourin into the lineup for Game 2.

After getting pushed around by the Florida Panthers in their playoff series last year, the Lightning were determined not to let that happen again. From preseason brawling with Florida to a number of fight-filled games this season, including some with Buffalo and Montreal, the Lightning have become the bad boys of the NHL.

While Sabourin would have loved to get into a fight, he couldn’t find a dance partner. Star winger Brandon Hagel led the way with the nastiness, getting into it with Anderson in the first period during a wild melee between both clubs, Hagel inviting the crowd to get on their feet as he went to the penalty box. Then in the second period he lured Juraj Slafkovský into a fight.

With three goals in two games as well, Hagel has been a central figure.

“He’s a hell of a player, he does everything for us,” Kucherov said of Hagel.

Corey Perry also got the better of Alexandre Carrier in a first-period fight during that same general melee, a pretty one-sided matchup as Carrier doesn’t normally drop the gloves.

All in all, Tampa Bay clearly had a mission in Game 2 and saw to it they roughed up Montreal any chance they had. It’s what the Bolts have done all year long, but it’s playing with fire against a lethal Canadiens power play. In fact, it could be a recipe for disaster in this series.

Sabourin’s dumb penalty on Anderson late in the third period was a great example. Sabourin is lucky the Canadiens didn’t win the game on that late-game power play. Sabourin even spoke pregame about needing to make sure he didn’t cross the line.

“Last thing you want to do is go out there and put your team short-handed,” Sabourin said. “That was the kind of the issue for us in Game 1. It’s definitely a line that I’m going to have to toe and try to play between the whistles, assert myself physically when I can but without hurting the team.”

Tampa may have to rethink its bully tactics in this series.

And here’s the thing: the young Canadiens didn’t look one bit intimidated.

Playoff Anderson strikes again

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis was asked Tuesday morning what’s changed with Anderson since two years ago, when he scored nine goals and struggled all year. The big factor, St. Louis said, was that Anderson’s role changed. He was no longer in an offensive role, it was more defensive, and it allowed him to calm his mind.

“I think it helped his confidence,” St. Louis said, “and not worry too much about scoring.”

All Anderson has done in the series is score a goal in each game — on top of one being called back in Game 1 for being tipped by a high stick — and terrorized the Lightning physically. His goal Tuesday was a classic case of Anderson doing a simple offensive action, driving the net, but also timing it correctly so he arrived as the puck did, deftly placed there by Phillip Danault.

Yes, Anderson’s regular-season role has changed. He is a key penalty-killer, he plays on a checking line, he is not leaned on for offense. But his playoff role changes as well, and Anderson becomes an essential momentum driver for the Canadiens.

Former Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar long ago confused the terms “powerhouse” and “workhorse” and called Anderson a “powerhorse.” That’s exactly what he’s been for the Canadiens through two games in this series.

His importance to the Canadiens was demonstrated very early in the game when Sabourin went on the ice for his first career playoff shift and lined up for a faceoff opposite Anderson. He immediately challenged Anderson to a fight, an invitation Anderson declined.

But Anderson should have probably taken that as a compliment.

A rare Slafkovský fight

Slafkovský’s decision to accept Hagel’s invitation to fight could be seen as questionable considering the result. But that decision also showed how hard Slafkovský is leaning into his new playoff identity.

After an extremely physical Game 1 and a hat trick, it is clear Slafkovský knows he needs to make an impact in ways that don’t necessarily involve putting the puck in the net. He had only fought three times in four seasons coming into the game, with one of them coming in the preseason, and none this season.

This is not his comfort zone. But the playoffs are not about comfort zones, and at 22, Slafkovský understanding that is a big step in his development.

Maybe he just needs to understand the need to be more selective with his dance partners in the future, because despite having a huge size advantage, that lack of experience fighting definitely showed against Hagel.

Did Montreal captain Nick Suzuki let Slafkovský know they would rather not have him fighting?

“I don’t know, he felt it was time, maybe it would get him going in the game,” Suzuki said. “It’s playoffs, you love to see guys giving it their all.”

Hedman skates again

Lightning captain Victor Hedman skated again Tuesday morning in the team’s optional. He’s certainly trying to ramp it up but Cooper downplayed the possibility of seeing him in this opening round series. But could he be back in the playoffs eventually?

“At some point, I think, but not right now,” Cooper said. “I wouldn’t rule anything out but I’d put that on the doubtful side for this series.”