Game 3 Recap – 3 Stars, Highlights, Presser: Habs Move One Step Closer

First Round Playoffs  Game 3 Home game 1 | Sunday April 20, 2014 | Canadiens lead the series 3-0
	Game Recap: The Canadiens benefited from an early lead with Rene Bourque scoring his third goal of the playoffs just 11 seconds into he game. The Habs missed an opportunity to deflate the Lightning when they couldn’t score on a 4-minute power-play. It was the most intense game of the series with the Lightning outhitting Montreal 40-22.  Carey Price played extremely well making 27 saves.   Plus / Minus ▲   Carey Price, Rene Bourque, Lars Eller, Brendan Gallagher, P.K. Subban, Alexei Emelin, Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Tomas Plekanec ▼   Danny Briere, David Desharnais
3	2

Boxscore:

Summary:
Goal Scorers: MTL  Bourque(3), Gallagher(2), Plekanec(2) TBL  Palat(1), Carle(1) Goalies: MTL Price (W)  3-0-0 TBL Lindback (L)  0-2-1

Shots on Goal:

NHL Three Stars
	Brendan Gallagher MTL   P.K. Subban  MTL  Rene Bourque  MTL

Coach Michel Therrien

• “[The Lightning] played with a lot of desperation. I really liked the way we played in the first period. We dictated the game and [Anders] Lindback did some great saves.”
• “We got a lot of scoring chances but sometimes you get an A-plus scoring chance, and we got a few of those. [Lindback] kept his team in the game. But we knew that we were going to play against a desperate team. They didn’t want to be down by three games. So it’s a huge win for us.”
• “During the play it’s tough to call and it’s because both benches are pretty far away (from the goal) but after review, I thought it was the right call (disallowing the Tampa goal because Alex Killorn was interfering with Carey Price.)”
• “I think that [the Canadiens’ playoff experience] is huge. We know what to expect. A lot of those guys last year was their first step in the NHL playoffs. We all know this is a new season. Regular season is something, when you get to the playoffs, it’s another level.”
• “Our young guys are well-surrounded with quality leadership in this dressing room. I think we showed a lot of composure about the way we play. This is what I appreciate about our team.”
• “[P.K. Subban] is playing really well. He’s playing solid, obviously when he’s having the puck he’s making some good plays. When you get to the playoffs, you’re gonna make sure that you’re really dependable. And that’s what P.K. is doing right now. He’s playing really solidly for his teammates. And this is what we appreciate.”
• “I gotta give [our players] a lot of credit. They really played well in the second period. I thought that was the right call and the (Brendan) Gallagher goal gave us momentum to get to the third period. I thought that we started really well again in the third period, played the way we’re supposed to play and play the right way. And we built on that.”
• “I thought our first period was phenomenal. We got some great, great scoring chances. Lindback kept them in the game. But I really liked the way we started the game.”

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

• “I was pissed then and I am pissed now. That’s just my opinion and I’ll let the court of public opinion take care of the rest.”
• “I thought that we played hard. I thought we were determined, I thought we played with passion. I thought we responded unreal. It’s tough to walk into that locker room and look those guys in the eye when they’ve played, clearly that was our best game we’ve played in the series. I thought they deserved a better fate tonight. Ultimately it ends up in a loss and that’s what hurts the most. But if you are talking about the (disallowed) goal it’s still a tie game. So you have to turn the page — stuff like that happens —  and I thought we did. It’s tough that… so many things, it’s tough.  Like how often is it that a player goes behind the net and his stick gets caught in the net and he trips over it, to leave the guy open. When does that happen? It just seems like so many things like that are happening a little bit to us. But there was plenty of time, a lot of time in the game for us to come back. We just fell one short.”
• “[The referee] is the one in charge. In my opinion, I saw it differently. But, he’s the one making the call. He’s a human being. He sees it one way, I see the other. There’s so many different calls.”
• “Everybody’s trying to do their best. We’re trying to do our best, the Canadiens are trying to do their best, the refs are trying to do the best. It was just tough to swallow for us. But let’s call a spade a spade, we only scored three goals — I mean two — and they got three.”
• “(On the disallowed goal) I see Killer is (Alex Killorn) going to the net hard. He ends up in the back of the net, you can debate how he ended up in the back of the net, but he did. In my opinion only, I see (P.K.) Subban hold him in there. I see (Carey) Price a little out of control then try — Killorn is trying to get out — I see Price, in my opinion, try to jump on him a little bit and then everything set up, Killorn’s out of the net, I don’t know how many seconds ticked off, puck went tic-tac-toe, Price was set then he’s down and out and the puck is in the net. That’s how I saw it. I don’t know how all of you saw it, but don’t make this sound like sour grapes. I don’t have sour grapes. It’s a bang-bang play. What I do appreciate about the ref, he was defiant and decisive and didn’t waiver. So, good for you. You made your call, you stood by it and good for him. He believed in what he saw. It’s a fast game. I just felt that I saw it differently.”
•  “I have no idea what Toronto (NHL operations) thinks. We don’t have access to that. I don’t know what they would have judged. I know what I would have judged, but I’m one person and I’m extremely biased. To me, I thought it was a good goal.”

To look back at the full lineups for tonight’s game, check the Game Day preview.

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