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Canadiens top Lightning again for 2-0 series lead

TAMPA, Fla.- Rene Bourque had two goals and David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher also scored Friday night, helping the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Carey Price stopped 26 shots for Montreal, redeeming himself following a less than stellar performance during a 5-4 overtime win in Game 1.

A second road victory in three nights sends the Canadiens home with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Sunday.

Bourque and Desharnais scored in the second period after defensive breakdowns left Tampa Bay goaltender Anders Lindback in tough situations. Gallagher made it 3-0 with an unassisted goal in the third period.

Bourque added his second goal at 14:39 of the third, rebounding his own shot before skating around the back of the net to beat backup goalie Kristers Gudlevskis.

Price lost his bid for a shutout when Teddy Purcell scored for Tampa Bay with less than two minutes remaining.

The Canadiens went 0 for 23 on the power play over their last eight games of the regular season and were 0 for 17 in five meetings with the Lightning before finally breaking through when Desharnais slipped the puck past Lindback for his first career playoff goal and a 1-0 lead.

P.K. Subban assisted on the goal, and then got another assist when Bourque took a pass from Thomas Vanek, split two defenders and skated in alone on Lindback to make it 2-0 at 10:35 of the second.

Lindback, filling in for the injured Ben Bishop, was lifted after Gallagher scored from the right circle at 11:46 of the third. Less than three minutes later, Montreal eliminated any prospect for a Lightning comeback when Bourque got his fifth career playoff goal in 12 games.

The Canadiens outshot the Lightning 44-25 in Game 1 and recovered after Price failed to protect a pair of third-period leads, taking the opener on Dale Weise's first career playoff goal.

Tampa Bay felt it played tentative in Game 1 and tried to put more pressure on Price from the start Friday. The Lightning got off three shots in the first minute and finished the opening period with 11 - five fewer than they attempted against Price during regulation in the previous game.

Lindback, meanwhile, made two nice saves - rejecting Canadiens captain Brian Gionta on a breakaway with his right leg five minutes into the game and using his glove to deny Max Pacioretty late in the period. The 6-foot-6 goaltender stopped 20 of 23 shots before being pulled.

Montreal won Game 1 despite not getting a strong performance from Price, who vowed the Canadiens would play better defensively after allowing four goals Wednesday night.

Tampa Bay failed to even get a shot off during a second-period power-play opportunity, and Price made a couple of pad saves and got some help from the post during a sequence that afforded the Lightning a chance to get back in the game.

NOTES: Lightning rookie LW Ondrej Palat did not play after leaving Game 1 with an upper-body injury. Bishop's status for the remainder of the series with a left elbow injury is uncertain, although Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper has said the goaltender is not expected to be ready to return any time soon. ... The Canadiens failed to take advantage of a four-minute high-sticking penalty on Steven Stamkos in the first period. They spent half that time skating 4-on-4 after drawing a penalty less than a minute into the power play for having too many men on the ice.

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