MONTREAL — Saku Koivu scored 3:15 into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens recovered from blowing a two-goal lead in the third period for a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Koivu put a rebound past Martin St. Louis after the Tampa Bay forward stuck out his left palm to stop Koivu’s first attempt on a wild goal-mouth scramble.
The Montreal captain danced off to the corner where he was joined by his teammates, who celebrated after blowing a 2-0 lead in the third.
The Canadiens won their second in a row following a five-game losing streak to strengthen their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They have 85 points.
Lukas Krajicek drew the Lightning even at 2 with his second goal of the season with 5:17 left in regulation.
Alex Kovalev scored his 20th goal on a power play in the first period and Guillaume Latendresse added a highlight-reel score early in the third to put Montreal up 2-0.
The Canadiens outshot Tampa Bay 36-19 overall, including all three shots in overtime.
Montreal held a 32-14 edge in shots when Krajicek’s shot through traffic deflected off Canadiens defenseman Mathieu Schneider on its way past Carey Price at 14:43 to tie it at 2.
Kovalev reached the 20-goal plateau for the 12th time in his 17 seasons in the NHL when he scored on a power play at 11:19.
Latendresse brought the crowd to its feet when he flattened Evgeny Artyukhin with an open-ice check early in the third, and again moments later with his 12th goal on a wraparound play at 5:48.
The big left wing drove down the left side and carried the puck behind the net to reach around and tuck it into an open right side for his 12th goal.
Price, who faced only two shots in the first, made 17 saves for his second straight win.
The Canadiens are 3-3-2 in eight games since general manager Bob Gainey took over behind the bench after firing head coach Guy Carbonneau on March 9.
David Koci scored midway through the third for Tampa Bay, which has lost four of five.
Kovalev opened the scoring. He took Alex Tanguay’s cross-ice pass and beat Karri Ramo with a shot from the left side.
Tanguay extended his points streak to four, including the third five-point game of his career in Tuesday night’s 6-3 win over Atlanta. He has three goals and five assists during his streak.
Montreal outshot Tampa Bay 11-2 in the first and 13-6 in the second.
Schneider, who also assisted on Kovalev’s goal, hit the right post with a slap shot from the point on a power play late in the second.
Tanguay missed 28 games through the first two months of the season after he injured his shoulder when he was driven into the boards by Artyukhin during a 2-1 shootout win in Tampa Bay on Dec. 30.
Notes: The Lightning fell to 5-17 in non-regulation games this
season. … Tampa Bay’s two shots in the first were the fewest allowed by Montreal in a period this season. The Lightning were held to a season-low one shot in the first period of a 4-1 loss in Carolina on Feb. 20. … Canadiens RW Matt D’Agostini played in place of Andrei Kostitsyn, who had the flu. RW Georges Laraque, LW Gregory Stewart and D Ryan O’Byrne also did not dress for Montreal.
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