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Tuesday 10 March 2015

Lightning strikes for a third time this year

It felt like a bigger game than usual.

And Carey Price elevated his game to another level.

Unfortunately for the Habs, he was the only one.

The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to own the Canadiens beating them by a score of 1-0 Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

"It could have been a different outcome if he(Price) wasn't in the net but he's going to be in the net for them," said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. "Down the stretch and if we meet in the playoffs, he's going to be there so we're going to have to find a way."

It was the third time this season the Lightning were able to beat the Canadiens.

Price was the lone bright spot for the Habs making 35 saves in the game, in what was one of his best performances of the season.

But the Lightning were aware, to beat the Habs, they needed to beat Price.

"Over the course of the game we had a lot of chances and opportunities that could have went in that didn't," said Lightning forward Tyler Johnson, who had the game winning goal. "But he's a great goaltender and made those saves."

The match up doesn't look like a good one for the Canadiens. In a best-of-seven series between the Lightning and the Canadiens it would take four show stealing performances from Price for them to win the series. Even then, it might not be enough because the Canadiens can't score.

Montreal still has 15 games to figure things out. But if Price is the only player that elevates his game during the playoffs, the Habs will get struck by Tampa Bay.

"It's the holy grail of hockey and it's a lot of fun to player here and it's that much more fun when you win," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper.