Your Bolts lost a tough one last night at home
Good morning, Bolts Nation. If you woke up and checked your phone this morning, you saw it. The Tampa Bay Lightning dropped a 3-2 decision to the Montreal Canadiens right here at Amalie Arena. It wasn't the way we wanted to start our week, especially at home. Montreal came out strong with Brendan Gallagher scoring early in the first, and honestly, the Bolts looked a little flat for stretches. We tried to claw our way back, but it just wasn't enough.
The second period was a rollercoaster. Our own Darren James got us on the board, tying it up from Gabriel Goncalves and Yanni Gourde, and the Tesla coil went wild! But literally 11 seconds later, Kirby Dach put the Canadiens back ahead. It was one of those moments that just deflate the building. Jake Guentzel then buried one to tie it again late in the second, and you felt the momentum shifting back. But then Alex Texier got the game-winner for Montreal just a minute into the third. We outshot them significantly, 40 to 24, but Carey Price, I mean, Sam Montembeault, stood on his head.
This loss keeps the Tampa Bay Lightning at 50-26-6 with 106 points, still second in the Atlantic, but our last ten games are now an even 5-5-0. It's not catastrophic for the standings, but it's a gut check. We need to find that consistent fire, especially with the playoffs around the corner. The mood in Tampa this morning feels a little like a rainy day at Clearwater Beach – a bit gray, but we know the sun will come out. We bounce back. We always do.
This is Cassie Morales from Ybor City — Be the Thunder, Bolts Nation.
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