Hagel's Two-Goal Third Period Lifts Tampa to Series-Tying Win

The Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Bell Centre, behind Brandon Hagel's two third-period goals. The series is tied 2-2.

Montreal Canadiens – Tampa Bay Lightning 2:3 (0:0, 2:1, 0:2)

Goals: 31. Bolduc (Guhle, Texier), 34. Caufield (Suzuki, Hutson) – 40. Guentzel (Moser, Raddysh), 42. Hagel (Kucherov, Guentzel), 56. Hagel (Kucherov, Moser).

Goalies: Dobeš – Vasilevskiy. Shots on goal: 18:20.

/series state: 2:2/

Bolduc and Caufield Open 2-0

Zach Bolduc cracked the scoreless tie at 31:00, finishing a play started by Kaiden Guhle and Alex Texier. Cole Caufield made it 2-0 minutes later off a Nick Suzuki setup. Bell Centre was rocking — but Tampa wasn't done.

Guentzel and Hagel Answer Before the Second Ends

Jake Guentzel cut the lead to 2-1 in the 40th, then Brandon Hagel tied it at 42:00 from feeds by Kucherov and Guentzel. The third period began even, with both teams trading chances.

Hagel's Winner in the 56th

Hagel struck again in the 56th, this time on a setup from Kucherov and J.J. Moser, completing a 3-2 comeback. "It was a big hit that got us into the game. It sparked the bench," Guentzel said postgame. Juraj Slafkovsky took a heavy hit during the game and went to the locker room.

What It Means

Tampa Bay tied the series 2-2 and now hosts Game 5 at Amalie Arena with home-ice advantage restored. {{homeTeam}} let a chance slip — they couldn't push the favored Lightning to the brink, and the series is now wide open.