Dach Immediately Makes Impact in Canadiens Win Over Lightning

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, looking to avenge their 5-3 loss against the very same team on Saturday.

For the most part, the Lightning controlled the play, but a strong start by the Canadiens paired with excellent work by their goaltender was enough to secure a 3-2 lead.

Samuel Montembeault was excellent, making 31 saves in the win, 12 of which were of the high-danger variety.

Montembeault with the absolute robbery on Perbix, not once, but twice! pic.twitter.com/z9dIWH714v

— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) March 22, 2023

Dach Delivers

As previously discussed, Dach makes a significant impact in the lineup, and he wasted no time reminding us of this fact on Tuesday night.

Dach scored his 13th goal of the season less than 10 minutes into the first period, capitalizing on a great pass interception by none other than Nick Suzuki, who used his great anticipation and smart positioning to generate the scoring chance.

Kirby Dach’s goal tonight, ohh yes he’s back pic.twitter.com/9V5CCbZSg7

— Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) March 21, 2023

Drouin’s Doghouse

Jonathan Drouin also wasted no time making an impact against the Lightning, however, he was returning from the doghouse rather than the injured reserve, seeing as Drouin was two minutes late to a team meeting, which meant he had to ride the pine on Saturday night.

He scored his second goal of the season off a great pass by Denis Gurianov, who now has 7 points in 12 games since joining the Canadiens in a trade that saw Evgenii Dadonov head to the Dallas Stars.

It was also Drouin’s ninth point in as many games.

Denis Gurianov finds a streaking Jonathan Drouin and it's 2-0 Habs! pic.twitter.com/NotLqFqmah

— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) March 21, 2023

Slick Suzuki

Mike Matheson scored his eighth goal of the season toward the end of the second period, re-establishing the Canadiens’ two-goal lead after Brayden Point scored for the Lightning.

Suzuki will be listed as the player that provided the secondary assist on the play, but in this particular case, there was nothing secondary about his pass.

He once again used his anticipation to set up the play, showing off his elite cerebral approach to the game in the process. With his second point of the night, pushing his career totals to 198 points in 280 games, inching closer to reaching the 200-point mark in his young career.

A stick tap also goes out to Rafael Harvey-Pinard who displayed the type of intelligent hockey and intense forecheck that has served him well during his late-season audition with the Canadiens.

Mike Matheson with a seeing eye shot through traffic, 3-1 #Habs pic.twitter.com/wkrmNf2ipm

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) March 22, 2023

The Canadiens are back in action on Thursday, facing the Boston Bruins. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM ET.

All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick.