Lightning lead Habs 2-1 after 2 on Coleman’s buzzer-beater

STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer

June 30, 2021Updated: June 30, 2021 9:18 p.m.

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1of11Tampa Bay Lightning center Blake Coleman (20) is greeted by center Anthony Cirelli (71) and right wing Barclay Goodrow (19), behind Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31), after a goal during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Gerry Broome/APShow MoreShow Less 2of11Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) yells at center Blake Coleman (20) after Coleman’s goal on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Gerry Broome/APShow MoreShow Less 3of11 4of11Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) reaches for the loose puck during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals against the Montreal Canadiens, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Gerry Broome/APShow MoreShow Less 5of11Montreal Canadiens right wing Corey Perry (94), right wing Cole Caufield (22) an ddefenseman Erik Gustafsson (32) celebrate the goal by center Nick Suzuki (14) during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Gerry Broome/APShow MoreShow Less 6of11 7of11Montreal Canadiens right wing Corey Perry (94) reacts after a goal by Canadiens center Nick Suzuki on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Gerry Broome/APShow MoreShow Less 8of11Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli, center facing, is hugged by center Tyler Johnson (9) as defenseman Jan Rutta (44) and defenseman Victor Hedman (77) join in during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals against the Montreal Canadiens, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Phelan Ebenhack/APShow MoreShow Less 9of11 10of11Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) plays the puck next to Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta (44) and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.Gerry Broome/APShow MoreShow Less 11of11

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Blake Coleman scored on a diving, one-handed buzzer beater at end of the second period to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 lead over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Coleman scored off a rush feed from Barclay Goodrow with 1.1 seconds left before the second intermission, sending the Lightning to the locker room up after one of their worst periods of the playoffs. They were outshot 16-7 in the second and 29-13 overall.

That has forced Vezina Trophy finalist goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to be Tampa Bay’s best player. He was serenaded often with chants of “Va-sy! Va-sy!” from the crowd of over 18,000 at Amalie Arena for making save after difficult save.

Vasilevskiy was perfect except for Nick Suzuki’s power-play goal midway through the second when the puck took a weird bounce on the way in. That goal came with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in the penalty box for interfering with Artturi Lehkonen, who went to the locker room after going hard into the boards.

Suzuki tied it for Montreal after Anthony Cirelli put the Lightning on the board a few minutes earlier. Cirelli’s seemingly harmless point shot found its way through traffic and beat Carey Price on the Lightning’s sixth shot of the night.

The Lightning are 13-2 this postseason when leading and the Canadiens 0-5 when trailing after two.

Tampa Bay won Game 1 by a score of 5-1 after taking the physicality to Montreal, getting plenty of traffic in front of Price and ending a streak of 32 successful penalty kills. Getting Joel Armia back helped the Canadiens find a different gear in Game 2 and take the play to the Lightning, but Coleman’s late goal put them in comeback mode again.

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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

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