Montreal Canadiens beaten in overtime by Lightning as Game 2 ends in dramatic playoff finish

The Montreal Canadiens were narrowly beaten 3-2 in overtime by the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Tuesday, levelling the series at 1-1.

J.J. Moser scored the decisive goal at 12:48 of overtime, firing a shot over the glove of Jakub Dobes after receiving a pass from Anthony Cirelli.

The goal ended Tampa Bay’s run of seven consecutive overtime playoff losses.

Brandon Hagel contributed a goal and an assist, while Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves in the win.

Montreal responded strongly throughout the game with Lane Hutson scoring his first career playoff goal to tie the game in the opening period, while Josh Anderson gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead late in the second period.

Despite a competitive performance, the Canadiens were unable to hold on in the extra period as Tampa Bay capitalised on its chance.

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Friday.