TAMPA - The Montreal Canadiens have an early series lead on the road 鈥 and they have Juraj Slafkovsky to thank.
Slafkovsky opened the playoffs with a hat trick Sunday, scoring the winner at 1:22 of overtime to lift the young Canadiens past the experienced Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in a riveting Game 1 of their first-round matchup.
"He probably won us the game,鈥 Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes said. 鈥淗e's been so good for us. I feel like in a big moment he wants the puck, and he's a big-time player.
鈥淗opefully, he will do the same thing (in Game 2) on Tuesday.鈥
Slafkovsky took a pass from Lane Hutson at the left circle, spotted an opening and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy clean with a wrist shot to complete the hat trick.
It was the type of shot he might have looked to pass up a couple of years ago, when he struggled to build confidence in the NHL under the weight of being the first overall pick in 2022. But this season, and especially Sunday, there was no hesitation.
"The evolution of Slaf, I think, is almost the same as the evolution of our team,鈥 coach Martin St. Louis said. 鈥淲e know what he's capable of bringing Slaf, and that's what he did tonight. He played to his identity. Not just the goals 鈥 he was physical, he won battles.
鈥淚t was a big game for him."
Slafkovsky, 22, became the third-youngest Canadien to score a playoff hat trick, behind Bernie Geoffrion and Howie Morenz, and the first in franchise history with three power-play goals in a post-season game since the NHL began tracking the stat in 1933-34.
The six-foot-three, 225-pound winger also made his presence felt physically with three hits, including one just 27 seconds into the game.
鈥淛ust try to go out there and hit some guys to get myself into the game,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to set the tone.鈥
Teammate Josh Anderson called Slafkovsky 鈥渙ne of the best power forwards in the game.鈥
鈥淗e's taken so many great strides in the last couple of years, and you can see him just evolving into the player he is now,鈥 Anderson said. 鈥淗e's still so young. I mean, it's going to be scary in a couple of years for him.
"He's brought it up a notch, like, this whole year.鈥
Slafkovsky broke out this season with 30 goals and 73 points to shatter his previous career highs, taking another massive leap after his difficult rookie year in 2022-23 had some fans concerned he would become a so-called bust.
His season also included a strong Olympic showing, with four goals and eight points at the Milan Cortina Games, leading underdog Slovakia to a fourth-place finish.
鈥淭he Olympics is kind of like a playoff series,鈥 he said. 鈥淔or sure it helped my confidence. I had a lot of the puck and just tried to bring that here and help the team win games.鈥
He called scoring the overtime winner and completing the hat trick a 鈥渘ice鈥 feeling, but was already looking ahead.
鈥淲e've got to still focus, we鈥檝e got a game in two days,鈥 he said.
CRANKY COOP
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper lamented his team鈥檚 lack of discipline after the loss. The Lightning took five minor penalties, including two in the third period.
The first led to Slafkovsky鈥檚 second goal, giving the Canadiens a 3-2 lead. The second 鈥 a high-sticking penalty on Jake Guentzel 鈥 carried into overtime and set up the winner.
鈥淣o. I have a problem with us,鈥 said Cooper, asked if he had a problem with the penalty calls. 鈥淐ome on, four offensive-zone penalties. Just look at them. That鈥檚 not over-aggression, that鈥檚 stupidity, a lot of them.
鈥淭hat was on us. That was a game where we gave them an opportunity to win, and this is the Stanley Cup playoffs. 鈥 It鈥檚 extremely disappointing the way we conducted ourselves and the amount of penalties we took.鈥
PLAYOFF JOSH
While Cooper avoided criticizing the calls, Anderson thought the officials were a little to happy to blow the whistle on a night that featured 12 minor penalties and one double-minor.
鈥淚 think you expect it to be a little bit different in the playoffs and kind of let us play hockey,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut at the end of the day, you have no control over that really."
Anderson, looked upon to lead the Canadiens鈥 physical presence come playoff time, was at the centre of the action Sunday.
The six-foot-three, 226-pound bruiser delivered four hits and opened the scoring in the first period when Gage Goncalves鈥 giveaway landed on his stick. In the second period, however, he sparked an unfortunate chain of events after being assessed a charging minor for his hit on defenceman Charle-Edouard D'Astous, who did not return.
Darren Raddysh tied the game on the ensuing power play, and Brandon Hagel scored again 29 seconds later with the Canadiens visibly rattled.
This report by 好色tvwas first published April 19, 2026.
