In only its second conference semifinal series, Tampa Bay came out determined not to repeat last season's start, a 3-0 loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Devils.
The Lightning had the first six shots and outshot the Canadiens 10-6.
Vinny Lecavalier served notice that Tampa Bay would not get caught up in the finesse game favored by the Canadiens by delivering a blow to Craig Rivet's chest. Lecavalier drew a roughing penalty, but the Lightning killed it off.
THE POSITIVE: While Montreal is known for its swift skaters, Tampa Bay created more opportunities with its aggressive skating and did not settle for dumping the puck in.
THE NEGATIVE: Montreal came on strong at the end by cycling and getting the Lightning defenders to chase behind the net. The period ended scoreless when the home team could have taken an early lead.
KEY PLAY: Matching minors on Tampa Bay's Andre Roy and Montreal's Joe Juneau led to a four-on-four. Juneau hooked Roy on a breakout, but Roy, who did not have the puck, made sure he would get the call by embellishing and was called for diving. That served notice that obstruction and diving would not be tolerated.
KEY PLAYER: Jose Theodore, coming off a strong game in a Game 7 victory over Boston, looked sharp early in stopping Martin St. Louis on a partial breakaway and Brad Richards on a quick turnaround.
Period two: Lightning takes lead
The Lightning struck first on Ruslan Fedotenko's goal, his third in three games, early. He was set up by Vinny Lecavalier, who later redirected a pass from Martin St. Louis for a 2-0 lead.
Hard work behind the net and in the right corner by Lecavalier and St. Louis paid off when Fedotenko converted a feed in front. St. Louis also assisted on Lecavalier's goal, giving the league's scoring leader six points (four goals and two assists) in his past four games.
THE POSITIVE: Scoring first was a must for the Lightning. Who's to say what would have happened had the seventh-seeded Canadiens gotten on the board first against the Eastern Conference's top seed.
THE NEGATIVE: About the only drawback was not taking a bigger lead with its 23 shots in the first two periods.
KEY PLAY: If Theodore had not lost his stick, which got caught in Lecavalier's skates near the right post, he might have squared up to Fedotenko's shot or been in better position. Defenseman Patrice Brisebois attempted to shovel the stick back to Theodore as Fedotenko one-timed the pass.
KEY PLAYERS: The Lecavalier-St. Louis-Fedotenko line cycled behind the net and in the corners and got the Canadiens to chase. That line accounted for five of the team's six points.
Third period: Lightning sets record
Tampa Bay doubled its scoring output, and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin secured his fourth shutout in six playoff games.
The Lightning set a team record for largest playoff victory margin.
The clincher for the Lightning's first semifinal series lead came on Vinny Lecavalier's second goal at 3:49.
Dmitry Afanasenkov added another on a backhander for his first career playoff goal.
With his fans watching back home in Quebec, Lecavalier put on quite a show to finish with two goals and an assist.
The Canadiens threw in the towel midway through the period when coach Claude Julien summoned goalie Jose Theodore to the bench, replacing him with backup Mathieu Garon, who sat out the first round against Boston.
THE POSITIVE: Brimming with confidence after the Islanders series, the Lightning maintained its home-ice edge. A decisive victory in Game 1 bodes well for a deep playoff run.
THE NEGATIVE: The obligatory late fisticuffs instigated by the losing team, Joe Juneau's boarding penalty on Ruslan Fedotenko resulted in a skirmish at center ice. Sheldon Souray got the better of Cory Sarich when the two squared off with 1:25 left.
KEY PLAY: Lecavalier displayed stickhandling skill and accuracy on his second goal to make it 3-0. Dan Boyle's dump-in came hard off the boards. And Martin St. Louis got a piece of the puck to slow it down for Lecavalier, who deked Patrice Brisebois and beat Theodore from the slot with a wrist shot to the far side.
KEY PLAYERS: Lecavalier had his most productive game of the playoffs, and Khabibulin, who had won just one playoff series before this season, is silencing his critics.
