Monday, 3 a.m.
It was a route. Then it was a rally. Then it was a shootout.
And in the end, the suddenly hot Tampa Bay Lightning was still standing.
The Bolts won their fourth game at Benchmark International Arena Monday night, surviving a 5-4 shootout against the Montreal Canadiens.
It was a game with different personalities. There was an ensuring rout, where the Bolts sprang to a 3-0 lead after two periods.
Then there was the comeback. Montreal roared back with four third-period goals, the tying goal coming from Juraj Slafakowski with 3.8 seconds to play.
But goaltender Jonas Johansson stood tall in a scoreless overtime, then stopped all three shootout attempts. For the night, Johansson stopped 32 shots and four power plays.
Gage Goncalves and Brayden Point both scored in the shootout.
Nikita Kucherov scored twice, his second straight two-goal agames. Kucherov now has 17 goals.
Nick Paul and Pontus Holmberg also scored for the Bolts.
The Bolts are now tied for first place in the Atlantic Division of the NHL.
The Bolts travel to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Honda Center.