Game 1 was also decided in overtime, when forward Juraj Slafkovsky completed his first Stanley Cup Playoffs hat trick in overtime for a 4-3 Canadiens win in the series opener Sunday.
“I honestly thought we dominated that game,” Struble said of Game 2. “We had the lead most of the game. Obviously there were a couple of chances we didn’t convert on, maybe turnovers, this and that. I think we’re in a great spot, nothing really changes in terms of the series. They were able to get one in OT, we got one in OT, but I think our performance has been better these past two games.”
The hotly-contested physical series continues with Game 3 at Bell Centre on Friday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX, The Spot) with Montreal playing the role of the good guys on home ice now that Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper embraced the opposite for the Lightning when he said after Game 2, “Somebody’s got to be the villain, I guess.”
The teams combined for 23 penalties worth 52 minutes Tuesday; the Lightning were called for 12 penalties (27 minutes).
“If they want to think that, that’s OK,” Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj said. “But we’re here. We’re ready for whatever they have to offer for us.”
Forward Josh Anderson and defensemen Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson were not on the ice for practice.
Anderson went to the dressing room in the third period Tuesday after he was hit from behind by Tampa Bay forward Scott Sabourin but returned to play in overtime. Matheson played the first two games of the series and Dobson is out with an upper-body injury. There was no update on any of the three.