Coming home down 2-0, the Canadiens came out throwing everything they had at both the Lightning players and net. They seemed to open with the philosophy, "If you can't beat them, beat them up."
Montreal physically dominated Tampa Bay through most of the period, and several shoves, jabs and almost-fights gave the game a stuttered start.
In all, there were 17 minor penalties called, nine on Montreal and eight on Tampa Bay.
Vinny Lecavalier, who had only 52 penalty minutes during the regular season, picked up three penalties, including a double-minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and slashing. Neither team generated many scoring chances. Montreal's best chance came about halfway through the period when Yannic Perreault took a pass between the circles and fired wide right.
The Lightning had its best opportunity when a Brad Richards point shot almost sneaked through a screen by Fredrik Modin with about three minutes remaining.
THE POSITIVE: The Lightning defense did an excellent job of keeping the play out wide and blocking the handful of perimeter shots the Canadiens were able to muster.
THE NEGATIVE: The Lightning was outworked in all three zones, even on the power play, and had trouble moving the puck through the neutral zone.
KEY PLAY: With 1:03 remaining, Nikolai Khabibulin moved quickly from post to post to stop a point-blank Richard Zednik rebound.
KEY PLAYER: Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle, who was questionable to play after sustaining an upper-body injury in Game 2, made two key stick-check takeaways on potentially dangerous Montreal odd-man rushes.
Period 2: Habby, special teams shine
Montreal began determined, generating more scoring chances in the first five minutes than both teams combined in the first. Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin played huge as the Canadiens outshot the Lightning 8-1 in the first 6:30.
The Lightning broke through to take the lead while short-handed at 8:41. Seconds after missing a breakaway chance, wing Cory Stillman got a second opportunity when Pavel Kubina picked up a loose puck and sent Stillman in alone on Jose Theodore. He beat Theodore on a backhander stick-side.
Less than a minute later, the Habs got on the board during a power play when the Lightning left Richard Zednik and Alex Kovalev alone in front of Khabibulin. Zednik deflected a Michael Ryder blast between Khabibulin's legs. Tampa Bay responded with a power-play goal of its own with 7:36 left when Brad Richards' shot from the left point found its way past a screened Theodore.
THE POSITIVE: After squandering three man-advantage opportunities in the first, the Lightning power play showed signs of life with Richards' goal.
THE NEGATIVE: The Lightning loosened up in its zone, giving Montreal a lot more time and space to set up.
KEY PLAY: Stillman's goal gave the Lightning the boost it needed after a dismal first 25 minutes.
KEY PLAYER: Khabibulin kept the Lightning in the game, robbing Steve Begin and Kovalev within a minute (4:04 and 5:01) and withstanding a Montreal flurry with 6:28 remaining.
Period three: Lightning loses lead, ties it
The Lightning finally got its forecheck working early and came away with a good scoring chance for its efforts.
Vinny Lecavalier skated into the high slot and ripped a shot that fooled Jose Theodore, who lost the puck when it bounced off his equipment. The Montreal defense swept the puck out of the crease just before Martin St. Louis pounced on the rebound.
The Canadiens quickly picked up the intensity and tied the score at 10:32 after the Lightning failed to clear the zone. Defenseman Craig Rivet kept it in at the blue line and fired a shot from the right point that handcuffed Nikolai Khabibulin. Michael Ryder caught the rebound and roofed it.
Montreal continued to roll, picking up its first lead (3-2) with 3:47 left when defenseman Patrice Brisebois took a faceoff win and fired a shot from the top of the right circle past Khabibulin.
Tampa Bay pulled Khabibulin for an extra attacker and tied the score when Lecavalier redirected Dave Andreychuk's desperation shot past Theodore with 17 seconds remaining.
THE POSITIVE: The Lightning managed to force overtime despite being outworked for most of the period.
THE NEGATIVE: Brisebois scored after Andreychuk entered the faceoff circle before Khabibulin was set in goal.
KEY PLAY: Andreychuk redeemed himself with a faceoff win in the Montreal zone to set up the tying goal.
KEY PLAYER: Lecavalier was in the right place at the right time to pick up the tying goal and his fifth of the series, tying a franchise record.
Overtime period: Richards ends it early
The Lightning took just 1:05 to silence a raucous Montreal crowd.
Brad Richards and Cory Stillman broke in on a two-on-one after Fredrik Modin created a turnover in the neutral zone.
Richards shot from the left circle and gathered his rebound. He banked it off Jose Theodore's left skate and into the net, giving the Lightning a 4-3 overtime victory and 3-0 series lead.
THE POSITIVE: The Lightning capitalized on the momentum it seized with Lecavalier's tying goal near the end of regulation.
THE NEGATIVE: It took the Lightning almost three periods to wake up and play with urgency.
KEY PLAY: Theodore gave up a fat rebound on Richards' initial shot, a fairly routine wrister with no screen.
KEY PLAYER: Modin started the play by knocking down a pass in the neutral zone and chipping the puck up the boards to give Richards his chance.
