Slafkovský could have decided, he preferred to pass. The American imitated the Slovak and secured the win for Montreal – NHL – Hockey

Montreal Canadiens hockey players won over Tampa Bay 3:2 after overtime. They thus took the lead 2:1 in the series played for four winning meetings.

Sportweb,
TASR

25.04.2026 05:27 , updated: 07:12

Photo: ČTK / AP / Christine Muschi

Joy of Montreal Canadiens players.

For the second time in this series, the overtime win was decided by a selection in the 2022 NHL draft. However, it was not Juraj Slafkovský as in game number one – when the Slovak scored a hat trick to secure a 4:3 PP triumph – but Lane Hutson.

The 22-year-old American stepped up at the start of extra time and ended it with a bomb from the blue after two minutes and nine seconds.

He burned through everything in his path and started an eruption of joy on the ice, in the Bell Center and beyond.

In the dramatic series, overtime was also needed in the third duel. After the Canadiens’ initial win, Tampa Bay’s triumph also came 3:2 pp. However, in the first match on the Canadian ice, the guests from Florida again pulled for the imaginary short end.

The same was true of Erik Černák, who did not score, played almost 18 minutes, had a plus point, shot on goal, was sent off once and blocked three Montreal shots.

His national team colleague Slafkovský was the second most used Montreal player after Nick Suzuki (21:11 minutes). He could have decided in the 62nd minute, but he was looking for a teammate from a good shooting position, who missed the goal from the first.

Read more According to a former teammate, Slafkovský dispelled doubts. He started hitting everything that moved

The 22-year-old attacker did not improve his point account, but still spent 18:08 minutes on the ice. He shot once, had two points and blocked shots. Once he even stood up for a throw-in. He failed.

The fourth game is scheduled for the night from Sunday to Monday, again at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

The players of Utah also got a 2:1 lead for the matches. In the first ever playoff game on home ice, they won over Vegas 4:2.

The guests were not supported much by goalkeeper Carter Hart, who conceded four goals from twelve shots and had only a 67 percent success rate.

The support of the home team was the Czech goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka, who neutralized 29 Vegas shots. “Mammoths” were leading 4:0 from the 30th minute and although the guests reduced the score with two goals, they were unable to equalize.

Anaheim players also confirmed the advantage of the home environment. After a 7:4 triumph over Edmonton, they lead the series 2:1. The Oilers scored four goals in all three games, but it was not enough to win in the second or third. Forward Mikael Granlund contributed three Canadian points to the Ducks’ victory.

Edmonton captain Connor McDavid scored for the first time in the series when he had a 1+1 record. At the same time, however, he also collected four minus points and had only a 27 percent success rate on throw-ins.

In the previous match, he suffered a minor ankle injury after contact with teammate Mattias Ekholm, but he finished the game and on Saturday night was the team’s busiest player with almost 24 minutes played.