Hagel scores twice in 3rd,
Lightning beat Canadiens 3-2 in Game 4 to tie series
[April 27, 2026]
MONTREAL (AP) — Brandon Hagel scored his NHL playoffs-leading
fifth and sixth goals in the third period and the Tampa Bay
Lightning rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Sunday night
in Game 4 to tie the series.
After the first three games in the first-round series went to
overtime, Tampa Bay overcame a two-goal deficit to end it in
regulation.
Hagel gave the Lightning the lead with 4:43 left, deflecting
linemate Nikita Kucherov’s shot past Jakub Dobes. Hagel scored
minutes after the Lightning had a 5-on-3 man advantage for 1:11.
“He’s definitely become the straw that stirs our drink,” Lightning
coach John Cooper said about Hagel. “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."
Tampa Bay held on after the Canadiens got a power-play chance with
2:33 left when Kucherov was called for slashing.
Lightning top-line center Jake Guentzel had a goal and assist, and
Kucherov and defenseman J.J. Moser each had two assists. Andrei
Vasilevskiy made 16 saves.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Tampa.
The Lightning rebounded after falling 3-2 on Friday night on
defenseman Lane Hutson’s OT slap shot.
Hagel tied it on a power play at 1:40 off a centering pass from
Kucherov. The Lightning got the man advantage when Oliver Kapanen
was sent off for high-sticking Dominic James.
Before this spring, Hagel had had six career Stanley Cup playoff
goals in 37 games with the Lightning across four playoff runs.
“He just does it all,” Guentzel said. “He’s a 200-foot player who
plays both sides of the body. Obviously,, he’s the hottest guy in
the league right now. He’s done it all year.”
Guentzel cut it to 2-1 with 54 seconds to go the second, beating
Dobes from the left side off a feed from Moser.
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Tampa Bay Lightning's Brandon Hagel (38) celebrates with teammate
Nikita Kucherov (86) after scoring against Montreal Canadiens
goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) as Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky (20)
looks on during third period NHL playoff hockey action in Montreal,
Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
“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.”
Zachary Bolduc and Cole Caufield scored for Montreal in 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.
“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 Lightning
defenseman Darren Raddysh and had the puck deflect in 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.
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