Nick Paul (16) and Victor Hedman (8) got the Lightning off to a 2-0 start before Brendan Gallagher (13) responded to make it 2-1 before heading into the second period where Tampa Bay pulled away.
Brayden Point (31) and Zemgus Girgensons (1) extended the lead to 4-1 before Montreal caught up thanks to goals from Christian Dvorak (6) and Brendan Gallagher (14). But Tampa Bay sealed the deal with Anthony Cirelli's (20) empty-netter for a 5-3 win.
The Lightning's current four-game winning streak is the best in the Eastern Conference and second-best in the league behind the Winnipeg Jets' eight-game streak. Meanwhile, Montreal has now lost three straight and is 2-7-1 in their last 10 games.
Utah 5-4 Capitals
Utah got out to a 3-1 lead by the start of the second period, but the Capitals battled back thanks to two goals from Tom Wilson (24) to send the game to overtime where both teams failed to score.
But Utah's Nick Schmaltz scored the lone shootout goal, giving them their third win in the last four games. Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka came in for Connor Ingram and put up 30 saves for his squad against the second-best team in the league.
Sitting at 24-23-9, Utah, unfortunately, is still nine points behind the Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division as they remain in fifth place. Washington (36-11-8) still holds a commanding 10-point lead in the Metropolitan Division and a nine-point lead over the Eastern Conference, with the Florida Panthers in second at 34-20-3.
2025 4 Nations Face-Off
The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off officially begins on Monday and Tuesday with practices for each country (USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland) before the games that will be held between February 12th and February 20th.
All NHL games will be put on hold until the 4 Nations Face-Off is over.