Juraj Slafkovský stepped into the slot, took the feed, and changed the temperature of the game. In a playoff opener that swung quickly from one side to the other, juraj slafkovský scored in overtime to complete a hat trick and give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1.
How did Juraj Slafkovský help turn Game 1?
The night began with Josh Anderson opening the scoring for Montreal in the first period, sending a shot from the slot over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s shoulder. The Lightning answered with speed and pressure, using quick strikes from Darren Raddysh and Brandon Hagel to seize an early 1-0 lead and then flip the game back in their favor. Montreal did not let the moment drift away.
Slafkovský scored his first goal on a power play in the second period, tying the game after Tampa Bay had pushed ahead. His second came early in the third period on another power play, when Cole Caufield worked below the goal line and slipped a pass into the slot. Slafkovský fired it past Vasilevskiy for a 3-2 Canadiens lead. That sequence mattered because it showed Montreal could answer a fast, physical opponent with patience and precision.
What made the overtime finish matter beyond one goal?
The decisive moment arrived in overtime, where Slafkovský completed the hat trick and sealed the win. In the narrow space of a postseason game, that kind of finish does more than put a team ahead in the standings. It changes how both benches remember the night. Montreal left with a 1-0 series lead, while Tampa Bay was left to absorb the fact that it had twice come back, only to see the game slip away at the end.
This was also a game shaped by special teams. Slafkovský’s three-goal night came on the power play, and that detail gave the performance extra weight. The Canadiens found room in structured moments rather than through chaos alone, which is often where playoff games are decided. For a team trying to set an early tone, that matters as much as the final score.
What did the opening game reveal about both teams?
It showed a contest with no long stretches of comfort. Montreal struck first, Tampa Bay answered, and each side had to keep adjusting. Brandon Hagel scored twice for the Lightning, including the goal that tied the game after Montreal had moved ahead in the third period. Jake Guentzel helped set up that equalizer with a cross-crease pass that found Hagel in front of a down-and-out Jakub Dobes. The pattern was clear: one team would land a punch, and the other would respond.
For Montreal, the larger story was not only the result but the shape of the response. Slafkovský’s goals gave the Canadiens a route through a tense opener, and the victory came with the added significance of first blood in Round 1. The game also offered a direct answer to a simple question: can Montreal convert pressure chances when the moment tightens? In this one, the answer was yes.
Slafkovský’s night ended with the kind of line that gets remembered because it captures both production and timing. The Canadiens will carry that into Game 2, set for Tuesday in Tampa at 7 p. m. ET. For now, the sight of Slafkovský finishing in overtime carries a different meaning than it did at the opening faceoff: one playoff goal can settle a game, but three can set the tone for a series.
