TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves to outplay Carey Price and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Kucherov put the defending champs up 3-1 two minutes into the third period. He scored again at 11:25 of the third, then assisted on Steven Stamkos’ power-play goal that made it 5-1 with just over a minute to go.
The Canadiens had not given up a power-play goal in an NHL playoff-record 13 consecutive games.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Tampa.
