Moser's First Career Playoff Goal Comes in Overtime — Lightning Even the Series

J.J. Moser scored at 12:48 of overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday at Benchmark International Arena. Brandon Hagel had a goal and an assist, Nikita Kucherov tied it at 12:33 of the third period, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 of 27 to keep Tampa Bay alive after a Game 1 overtime loss. Moser is the first player in Lightning history with his first career playoff goal as an OT winner.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Montreal Canadiens 3-2 (OT) (1-1, 0-1, 1-0 — 1-0)

Goals: 9. Hagel (Guentzel, Cernak), 53. Kucherov (Cirelli, Hagel), 73. Moser (Cirelli) – 17. L. Hutson (Suzuki, Caufield, PP), 39. J. Anderson (Danault, J. Evans).

Goalies: Vasilevskiy (25 saves on 27) – Dobes (31 saves on 34). Shots: 34-27 TBL.

/series: 1-1/

Hagel Strikes, Hutson Answers

Tampa took the lead at 8:40 of the first when Brandon Hagel cashed a Guentzel feed off the rush — Erik Cernak picked up the secondary assist for what was a sweet redirect after Tampa's neutral-zone speed. Montreal answered on the power play at 16:11 — Lane Hutson on the receiving end of a Nick Suzuki cross-ice setup, with Cole Caufield's traffic causing Vasilevskiy to lose his sightline.

Anderson's Lead, Kucherov's Tying Strike

Josh Anderson put Montreal ahead at 18:36 of the second after a Danault-Evans setup, beating Vasilevskiy on a one-timer from the slot. The Lightning trailed entering the third with their season on the line. Hagel found Kucherov at the back post at 12:33, and the captain wired it home for a 2-2 game.

"Just take your time and take a shot," Moser said. "We talked about putting a lot more pucks on net."

Moser Buries It in OT

Overtime began with both teams pressing. At 12:48 of the extra session, Anthony Cirelli won a board battle and slid the puck to Moser in the high slot. The defenseman snapped a wrist shot past Dobes — the first career playoff goal of his career, and an overtime winner. The Benchmark International Arena erupted.

"When there are obstacles in the way, they'll try and get through it," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said postgame.

What It Means

Tampa Bay evened the series 1-1 and avoided the kind of road trip to Montreal that turns a season into folklore. The series shifts to Bell Centre on Friday with Slafkovsky still riding his Game 1 hat trick into a hostile road environment. The Lightning's championship core has been here before — and Moser, with one swing, just made his name part of the franchise's playoff history.