Montreal Max Pacioretty lifted the Montreal Canadiens into the second round of the Stanley Cup play-offs Tuesday night with a power-play goal with 43 seconds remaining for a 4-3 victory and a four-game sweep of Tampa Bay.
The first team to advance this year, the Canadiens also got goals from Daniel Briere, Brendan Gallagher and Lars Eller.
Ondrej Palat had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Victor Hedman pulled the Lightning within one goal three minutes into the third period, and Tyler Johnson tied the game three minutes later.
Lightning backup goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis replaced Anders Lindback after Gallagher’s goal 5:42 into the second period. Lindback gave up three goals on 20 shots, while Gudlevskis stopped 16 of 17 shots in relief.
Patrick Marleau scored on a backhand 6:20 into overtime, and San Jose moved to the brink of the second round with a victory over Los Angeles to take a 3-0 first-round series lead. Rookie Tomas Hertl tied it with 10:43 left in regulation for the Sharks, who survived a much-improved effort from their bitter California rivals after two blowout wins in San Jose.
Marleau ended it for the Sharks with his third goal of the series. His shot banked off Kings defenseman Slava Voynov’s stick on its way past Jonathan Quick, who made 36 saves in his third straight loss. Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots for the Sharks.
The Sharks have won five straight overtime playoff games and 10 of their past 11, with Marleau scoring four game-winning goals during that remarkable stretch. Los Angeles has slipped to the brink of first-round elimination just two years after its Stanley Cup title run.
