The Tampa Bay Lightning refused to go quietly in Montreal, erasing a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 win in Game 4 to knot their first-round series at 2-2. Brandon Hagel buried two third-period goals to wipe out the Canadiens' lead, and a thunderous open-ice check from defenseman Max Crozier late in the second period helped flip the entire vibe in favor of the Bolts. The regulation win sends the matchup back to Tampa with a pivotal Game 5 on deck.
Crozier's Hit Flipped The Script
Late in the second period, Max Crozier stepped up on Juraj Slafkovský with a heavy open-ice hit that turned a simmering game into something a lot nastier. Slafkovský left the period after the collision, and Tampa Bay ramped up the pressure, a swing that the local paper pegged as a turning point in the comeback, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The hit changed the tone of the night and helped tilt the physical edge toward Tampa at the Bell Centre.
Hagel's Two-Goal Third
Brandon Hagel took over the third period, finishing with two goals, including a late deflection that stood up as the go-ahead marker, giving him his fifth and sixth postseason goals of the series, per The Associated Press. Jake Guentzel chipped in a goal and an assist, while Andrei Vasilevskiy needed just 16 saves on a night that stayed tight but ended in regulation. Tampa's power play delivered the tying goal earlier in the third, and heavy traffic in front set up the winning deflection.
Bolts TV: Inside The Room
Postgame coverage on the team side had players and coaches circling back to the physical edge as the spark. In Bolts TV clips shared by the club, Crozier said the hit "changed the momentum" of the game, according to the team's postgame video on NHL.com. Around the room, players credited that sequence with giving Tampa the energy and bite it needed to close out the comeback.
What It Means For The Series
With the series locked at 2-2, the teams head back to Tampa for Game 5 on Wednesday, according to the postseason schedule from The Hockey News. Observers noted how quickly the narrative flipped, describing a momentum swing "that started with Max Crozier’s devasting hit and ended with Hagel’s fifth," as Sportsnet put it, setting up a massive home date in a series defined by one-goal games. Depth, discipline and special-teams execution now look like the key levers for whichever side wants to grab control of this best-of-seven.
