Music: {allcanada} Lightning sweep Canadiens, clinch playoff berth

Monday, March 30, 2015

{allcanada} Lightning sweep Canadiens, clinch playoff berth

Angelina Jolie / Ashton Kutcher / Bethany Joy Lenz / Beyonce Knowles

MONTREAL -- Vladislav Namestnikov had two goals and an assist, and Ben Bishop made 25 saves to help the Tampa Bay Lightning clinch a berth in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 5-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday.

Tampa Bay (47-23-7) went 5-0-0 this season against Montreal, which swept the Lightning in the first round of the 2013-14 playoffs. The Lightning are 8-0-1 against the Canadiens in the regular season since 2013-14.

Tampa Bay has 101 points, one behind Montreal (47-22-8) for first place in the Atlantic Division. Each team has five games remaining.

Lightning rookie Jonathan Drouin scored for the first time since Dec. 15 to end a 42-game goal drought. Nikita Kucherov scored the Lightning's third goal of the second period to make it 3-1. Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman scored into an empty net with 57 seconds left in the third.

Bishop, who started all five games against the Canadiens, assisted on Tampa Bay's first two goals in the second.

Jeff Reese of the Calgary Flames holds the record for assists in a game by a goalie with three, one in each period of a 13-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 10, 1993.

P.K. Subban scored his 14th goal on a power play with 3:50 remaining in the third period to draw Montreal to within one.

Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty scored his team-leading 37th goal, and defenseman Jeff Petry scored his first goal in 14 games since he was acquired by Montreal in a March 2 trade with the Edmonton Oilers.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price made 39 saves.

Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman left the game after one 29-second shift in the first minute of the third period and did not return.

The Lightning lost defensemen Jason Garrison and Andrej Sustr, and center Tyler Johnson, each to an upper-body injury in Tampa Bay's 4-0 loss Saturday at the Detroit Red Wings. Garrison is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, Sustr is out 1-2 weeks, and Johnson is day-to-day.

Bishop got his first assist with a long pass to Lightning captain Steven Stamkos to set up Namestnikov's first goal at 1:24 of the second.

Pacioretty scored his third shorthanded goal at 4:24 to tie the game 1-1, but his goal was still being announced when Drouin gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead with his third goal 33 seconds later at 4:57.

Ondrej Palat cut off a Montreal clearing attempt to set up Tampa Bay's third goal at 18:07. He passed to Namestnikov, who set up Kucherov's one-timer for his 28th goal.

Petry scored 23 seconds into the third period to draw Montreal within 3-2.

Palat got his second assist of the game on Namestnikov's second goal, his ninth, at 6:21.

Brad Pitt / Britney Spears / Colin Farrell / Dale Earnhardt Jr