Hagel scores twice to rally Lightning by Canadiens, tying NHL playoff series

Should Tampa Bay advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, fans likely will remember “the hit” – a momentum-swinging collision that sparked a rally from a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

The stat sheet would be correct to highlight Brandon Hagel, who scored his fifth and sixth goals of the postseason in the third period as the Lightning tied the series at 2-all.

But the postgame talk after Game 4 was on defenseman Max Crozier’s bone-jarring collision with Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovský in the neutral zone, with 2:12 left in the second period.

"Talk about getting momentum back," Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh said.

“You could see on the bench and between periods, it changed the momentum,” Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand told Lightning Radio. “Stuff like that feeds down the lineup.”

About a minute later, Lightning winger Jake Guentzel cut the Canadiens’ lead to 2-1, beating Jakub Dobes from the left side off a feed from defenseman J.J. Moser. Teams were skating four-on-four with Montreal's Mike Matheson and Hagel serving slashing penaltiies 28 seconds apart.

Without "the hit" and ensuing goal, the Bolts would have gone into the second intermission down two and facing a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series heading back to Tampa for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

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“That’s a massive goal for us,” Hagel said. "I think going into the third period sometimes down two goals, could be a little bit dicey at times. To get one there, the period ends and you kind of take the crowd out of it right there. Then we get to come onto the ice and just kind of build off that.”

“That’s a massive goal for us,” Hagel said. “I think going into the third period sometimes down two goals, that’s dicey for us. Guys on the bench are saying let’s get one before the end of the period and we get one. You kind of take the crowd out of it right there. Then we get to come onto the ice and just kind of build off that.”

The surge continued in the third, when Hagel tied the game at 2-all on a power play at 1:40 off a centering pass from Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning got the man advantage when Oliver Kapanen was sent off for high-sticking Dominic James.

Hagel gave the Lightning the lead with 4:43 left, deflecting Kucherov’s shot past Jakub Dobes.

"Having a two-goal lead, there's two different situations,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “One, you're getting killed in the game and you're down 2-0, and you're looking up saying, 'I can't believe it's not at six.’ Or you look up and you're down 2-0, and you're like, 'How are we not up 2-0?' And that's how I felt.

“The way that game was going, I felt we deserved a little bit better of a fate, and if we just kept going, something would turn for us. Sure enough, the hit, the 4-on-4, the PP, and all of a sudden, we're right back in it.”

As a crowd of 20,962 shook Montreal's Bell Centre, the Lightning killed off a late power play when Kucherov was called for slashing against Matheson with 2:33 remaining.

The Canadiens’ power play (30%) was dominant through the first three games, but Tampa Bay's penalty kill performed much better on Sunday, with success on five of six tries.

Guentzel had a goal and assist, and Kucherov added two assists on the top line with Hagel.

Hagel arguably has been the best player in the series, if not the entire NHL playoffs.

“He just does it all,” Guentzel said, “a 200-foot player, plays on both sides of the puck and, obviously, he's the hottest guy in the league right now so he has done it all year and, obviously, he is a special player for our team so it's been fun to watch. It's been fun to be out there with him. He's one of the best players in the league for a reason.”

Cooper called Hagel "the straw that stirs our drink.”

“Even when we went down 2-0, he stood up and looked both ways and, literally I think, captivated the bench with what he was saying and the message he was delivering," Cooper said.

ALSO READ: Lightning win Game 2 in overtime, 3-2, to even NHL playoff series

The first three games were decided in overtime, and with the Lightning falling 3-2 on Friday night on defenseman Lane Hutson’s OT slap shot.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 16 saves for Tampa Bay.

Zachary Bolduc and Cole Caufield scored for Montreal in a 3:23 span in the second. Caufield scored for the first time in the series after having 51 goals in the regular season.

Dobes made 17 saves for Montreal.

“We didn’t play a good enough third, I would say,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We take three penalties, it’s a veteran team, talented. They’re good at getting us to take penalties.”

Bolduc opened the scoring with 9:54 left in the second. He took a long pass from defenseman Kaiden Guhle, held off Darren Raddysh and had the puck deflect into the net off his body as he cut across the front of the goal.

Caufield struck on a power play with 6:31 left in the period, with Guentzel off for slashing Dobes’ glove. Caufield took Nick Suzuki’s centering pass in the slot and redirected the puck in.

SERIES SCHEDULE (best of seven)

Game 1 – Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (overtime)
Game 2 – Lightning 3, Canadiens 2 (overtime)
Game 3 – Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (overtime)
Game 4 – Lightning 3, Canadiens 2; series tied 2-2
Game 5 – at Tampa on Wednesday, 7 p.m. (ESPN2, WXPX-The Spot)
Game 6 – at Montreal on Friday, Time TBD
Game 7 (if necessary) – at Tampa on Sunday, Time TBD

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Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.