Tampa Bay Lightning Overwhelm Montreal Canadiens: Even-Strength Mastery Leads to 7-4 Triumph

The Tampa Bay Lightning, with a commanding display of offense and defense, outplayed the Montreal Canadiens in a high-scoring affair that ended 7-4. The Lightning's season record now stands at an impressive 14-8, while the Canadiens' record adjusts to 8-14 after this encounter. The game concluded with the Lightning securing two points for their victory.

From the opening faceoff at Bell Centre, the Tampa Bay Lightning set an aggressive tone. They netted two goals in the first period and followed up with a staggering four goals in the second. Their final tally came from an empty-net goal in the third period, capping off their scoring spree. The team's shooting accuracy was remarkable throughout, boasting a shooting percentage of 20 percent from their total of 35 shots on goal.

The powerplay unit for Tampa Bay was particularly effective; they capitalized on two out of five opportunities while maintaining control during powerplays as evidenced by winning seven out of ten faceoffs during those times. This special teams success contributed significantly to their overall performance.

Defensively, Tampa Bay was just as formidable. Their goaltender made all 26 saves required for a perfect save percentage and played an integral role in denying any shorthanded goals from four attempts by Montreal. Furthermore, they blocked a substantial number of shots – totaling at twenty-one – which helped maintain their lead throughout.

On even strength play, which proved pivotal in this matchup against Montreal Canadiens who also showed resilience at even strength scoring all four of their goals without man advantage - Tampa Bay excelled here too by netting five even-strength goals themselves.

Montreal's effort cannot be overlooked despite being overshadowed by Tampa Bay's dominance; they managed to put up four goals against one of the league’s top teams and won forty-one percent of faceoffs overall but fell short defensively allowing seven goals including one empty-netter which sealed their fate.

As fans look ahead eagerly to what comes next for Tampa Bay Lightning after such an assertive win on enemy ice; they can mark down April 6th on their calendars when Lighting will visit Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. This upcoming game is scheduled for broadcast on ABC and ESPN+ starting at 1:00 PM EST where fans can tune in to catch all action live as it unfolds.