Habs blow 2-goal lead, Hagel strikes twice as Lightning tie series with Game 4 win

Brandon Hagel scored twice as the Tampa quest Lightning rallied from a 2-0 shortage to licking the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a natural state biz 4 filled with momentum swings and major hits, tying the first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Hagel, with his sixth of the playoffs already, scored the go-ahead goal at 15:07 in the third period when Nikita Kucherov's shot from the half wall bounced off him and in.

The goal came minutes after the Canadiens killed a 71-second 5-on-3 disadvantage to light up the Bell Centre, as Kucherov tumbled into the boards from a Jake Evans cross-check with Mike Matheson already in the penalty box.

The Canadiens then jumped on the power play — and a 6-on-4 advantage with the net empty — at 17:27 with Kucherov off for slashing, but couldn't produce the equalizer.

Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay, while Kucherov and J.J. Moser added two helpers each. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 16 shots.

Cole Caufield and Zachary Bolduc replied for Montreal. Jakub Dobes made 17 saves in the first game of the series to end in regulation.

The previous three games required overtime. Lane Hutson scored the Game 3 winner in a 3-2 victory Friday to give the Canadiens a 2-1 series lead after the teams split the first two games in Tampa, Fla.

The series returns to the Sunshine State for Game 5 on Wednesday.

Bolduc broke the deadlock at 10:06 in the second period after Kaiden Guhle found him with a stretch pass. He drove to the net with Lightning defenceman Darren Raddysh draped all over him as Vasilevskiy's poke check bounced off his chest and in.

Caufield doubled the lead on the power play with 6:31 remaining for his first of the playoffs after a 51-goal regular season.

Nick Suzuki found him alone in front to send the Bell Centre crowd — and the thousands gathered outside — into a frenzy as Caufield dropped to his knees in celebration.

A chippy, chaotic end to the second ensued, with a major scrum, more penalties and a massive hit.

What makes Montreal's hockey heart tick?

Max Crozier, in the lineup for the first time this post-season, flattened Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky at centre ice with 2:12 left in the period as the crowd let out a collective gasp.

The Slovak winger stood up and laboured off the ice before heading straight down the tunnel. No penalty was called on the play.

Slafkovsky returned in the third period to "Slaf-kov-sky!" chants, but not before Guentzel cut into the Canadiens' lead with 54 seconds remaining in the second, converting a cross-ice pass from Moser during 4-on-4 play.

The Lightning almost scored again in the dying seconds off a net-front scramble.

Hagel ultimately tied the game on the power play 1:40 into the third when Kucherov set him up for a tap-in after Oliver Kapanen's penalty for high-sticking.

The closely contested series comes after both teams totalled 106 points in the regular season, with Tampa Bay holding the regulation-wins tiebreaker.

It's a clash between a longtime powerhouse in Tampa Bay — Stanley Cup champions in 2020 and 2021 — and a rising Montreal team trying to follow that blueprint.

Now it's a best-of-three to decide whether youth or experience moves on.

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