TAMPA, Fla. -- — The Tampa Bay Lightning have to beat one of the franchise’s greatest players to get where they want to go.
Hall of Fame forward Martin St. Louis, whose No. 26 hangs in the rafters at Benchmark International Arena, leads the Montreal Canadiens against the Lightning in a first-round series that begins Sunday.
St. Louis took over as Montreal’s head coach in 2022 so he’s returned to Tampa Bay already as a visitor. But there’s more at stake now.
The Canadiens are seeking their first Stanley Cup since 1993 and haven’t won a playoff series since the Lightning beat them in the Cup Final in 2021.
Tampa Bay has been eliminated in the first round three consecutive seasons since falling two wins shy of a three-peat.
“I was fortunate enough to coach Marty not for a long time but I know his hockey sense, his hockey mind, his acumen,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “He knows the game. He knows exactly and he sees it in advance. That’s probably why somebody of his size was in the league so long because he’s super competitive, super talented, but he had a drive about him and he’s got the same thing in coaching. ... He’s a sponge so am I surprised at his success? Not an ounce because Marty is gonna be successful in anything he does.
“If you’re comparing myself to Marty, I’m not a Hall of Famer. He’s in the Hall of Fame. I’m not. So, I’d never put us on the same level.”
St. Louis played 13 seasons for the Lightning and led the franchise to its first Stanley Cup title in 2004 when he won the Hart Trophy. He was the first player to have his number retired by the organization in 2017.
“I’m so far removed from that,” St. Louis said of his time in Tampa Bay. “It’s my fourth year now, gone to the building plenty of times. I think the first time I went, yeah, it was a little weird. I don’t have any emotion attached to the Lightning right now. Zero.”
Both teams finished the regular season with 106 points. The Lightning earned the home-ice advantage in the series with 50 wins to Montreal’s 48.
The Canadiens won two of the four regular-season meetings in regulation, including the last two by a combined score of 6-1.
The playoff-tested Lightning are tired of early summer vacations. Championships are the standard in Tampa Bay and the Lightning haven’t come close three straight years.
They are tied with Colorado for longest current playoff streak in the NHL at nine seasons but all that matters is finishing it off.
“Long summers aren’t that fun,” left wing Brandon Hagel said. “Everyone wants to play. Everyone dreams of this moment. We have a good team that we’re up against and it’s going to be a good test for us.”
Forward Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists), finishing second to Connor McDavid for most in the NHL this season and the second-highest point total in his 12-year career.
Forward Jake Guentzel had 88 points (38 goals, 50 assists) for the Lightning and Hagel added 74 points (36 goals, 38 assists). Defenseman Darren Raddysh had a career-high 70 points (22 goals, 48 assists).
Center Nick Suzuki led Montreal with a career-high 101 points (29 goals, 72 assists), becoming only the fifth player in franchise history to reach 100 points in a season.
Forward Cole Caufield led the team with a career-best 51 goals, finishing behind Nathan MacKinnon’s 53 for most in the NHL. Defenseman Lane Hutson had 78 points (12 goals, 66 assists), and left wing Juraj Slafkovsky finished with 73 (30 goals, 43 assists).
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2018-19 and finished in the top three four other times, is 39-15-4 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
Vasilevskiy was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner when the Lightning won their third Stanley Cup and second of back-to-back titles in 2020-21.
Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes was 29-10-4 in his first full season with 2.78 GAA and .901 save percentage. Dobes was 1-2 in three playoff games last year when Montreal lost to Washington in five games in the first round.
Lightning captain Victor Hedman has rejoined the team following a leave of absence since March. Hedman isn’t available for the start of the playoffs and it’s unknown when he’ll return to the ice.
For now, the Lightning will have their captain in the locker room and with the team.
Hedman was limited to just 33 games because of injuries, including elbow surgery, before taking a leave for personal reasons.
------
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl