TAMPA, FL - A tussle in the second period during Game 5 of the first-round playoff series between the Montreal Canadians and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, April 29. 2026 at Benchmark Intl Arena in Tampa, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

So often “razor thin” is the choice of words to describe the margin separating teams in a playoff series. The difference between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens is razor thin. If indeed it is that wide.

Five games, five one-goal games, three have gone into overtime, and a total of 27 goals scored. The Habs have one more, 14-13, and their lead in the series is one, 3-2. Game 6 will be played at what is certain to be a raucous Bell Centre on Friday evening.

The Canadiens had quick responses during a 3-2 win in Game 5 in Tampa on Wednesday evening. Not only did Brendan Gallagher open the scoring less than 20 seconds into his first shift of the series, and three minutes into the game, the Habs regained the lead at 2-1 when Kirby Dach shrugged off Gage Goncalves and scored 11 seconds after Dominic James got Tampa Bay on the board in the second period.

Fast-forward to early in the third period when, with the scored knotted at two, the Bolts’ Darren Raddysh let loose with a low shot from the slot that got past traffic only to hit the post to the right of Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes. The carom off the post bounced over the stick of Nikita Kucherov, who was staring at an open net as a desperate Alexander Carrier was late on arrival. Less than a minute later, and with Tampa Bay in a line change, Lane Hutson lasered a pass to Alexander Texier who beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a shot the great goaltender would typically snag. It was Texier’s second goal of the series, two more than Nick Suzuki and one more than Cole Caufield.

“This is the margin of the game,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper, providing his account of the sequence. “Raddysh hits the post, an open net and the puck bounces over Kuch’s stick and like 40 seconds later…..it’s in the back of our net. You just feel like it is a little deflating at that point.”

There were aspects of the game within the game that could be deflating to a team. For example, the Canadiens were credited with winning three-quarters of the puck battles. The faceoff circle? Well, Marty St. Louis’ club won an eye-opening 18 of 22 in the second period, something that spilled into the third period as Montreal at one point won 23 of 29 draws. The Lightning’s desperation with the extra attacker in the game’s final two-plus minutes balanced the scales (8-8) as far as third period faceoffs, but the Canadiens’ 66 percent success rate for the game and second period dominance was telling.

None of that will matter when the puck drops for Game 6. What could matter is Gallagher’s presence in the lineup for a second straight game after being scratched in the first four matches. The 33-year-old sparkplug was at his annoying best at Benchmark International Arena after not having played since Montreal’s regular-season finale in Philly 15 days earlier.

“Fun series to watch and coming in I just wanted to follow their lead,” Gallagher said of what he witnessed from the press box in the first four games. “You don’t know when the opportunities are going to come and you have to be ready when they do.”

The 14-year vet was ready and buried his opportunity.

“I was happy for him that he was able to give us an early lead,” said St. Louis. “Really happy with the way how he has handled everything and not surprised by how he played (Wednesday night).”

It would be no surprise if the series, whether one or two more games in duration, continues to play out as it has. That may not be good for Tampa Bay. After all, Montreal has scored first in four of five games and kept re-taking the lead in Game 5.

“The fact we kept going down, we had to keep chasing the game,” said Cooper. “That’s not a recipe for success.”