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Lightning try to finish off Habs

May 7, 2015 - 2:40 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Tyler Johnson came through with a buzzer-beating goal to hand the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. His club hopes to finish off the Montreal Canadiens just one night later when the Bolts host Thursday's Game 4 at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning are one win away from a sweep of this best-of-seven set thanks to Johnson's dramatic game-winner on Wednesday night. He scored off a dish from Victor Hedman with just 1.1 seconds left in regulation, sending Tampa Bay to a 2-1 victory and a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.

With the game tied 1-1 and seemingly headed for overtime, Ondrej Palat carried the puck up the right wing and cut toward the center below the circles. He found Hedman on the opposite wing, and the hulking defenseman waited until Habs blueliner Andrei Markov dove before slipping a pass to Johnson, whose shot from atop the crease found space between Carey Price's pads for the shocking game winner.

"I literally had no idea it was that close," Johnson said. "I knew when I jumped on the ice this would probably be the last shift of the period, but I didn't realize when I was standing in front it was that close. It's pretty cool."

Johnson leads the NHL with eight goals this spring, and has arrived at the league-leading total with only 25 shots on goal.

The victory pushed Tampa's winning streak against the Canadiens to eight games and gives the Lightning a chance to avenge last spring's opening-round playoff sweep at the hands of Montreal. The Bolts won all five games during the regular-season series and outscored the Habs by a 21-8 margin in the process.

Alex Killorn registered the other score for the Lightning, who can advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a win tonight. Tampa last made it to the conference finals in 2011, when it lost to Boston in seven games. The club's most recent sweep came a round earlier when it eliminated Washington in four games during the 2011 conference semis.

Ben Bishop aided Wednesday's win with a 30-save performance as he improved to 13-1-2 all-time against Montreal.

"We were confident [in him] in here the whole time," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said of his goaltender. "I know there were some questions from the media and from other people about this being his first [Stanley Cup Playoff]. But he's such a competitive guy. He wants to play against the best, he wants to beat the best. When you have that attitude it's almost contagious around the room."

Brendan Gallagher notched the lone marker for the Canadiens, while Price stopped 17 shots in the crushing setback.

"We played a hell of a game, had a lot of chances, put so many pucks at the net, hit some posts again," Habs forward Tomas Plekanec said. "It's a bad way to lose."

Montreal hasn't been swept since dropping four straight to rival Boston in the 2009 Eastern quarterfinals. If the Canadiens can avoid a sweep with a win tonight, they will force Tampa to return to Montreal for Game 5 on Saturday.

Extending the series is one thing, but in order to advance the Habs will have to join the 1942 Maple Leafs, 1975 Islanders, 2010 Flyers and last season's Kings in rallying from an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.

Canadiens forward David Desharnais returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing Game 2 with the flu. He logged 15 minutes, 4 seconds of ice time and had one shot on goal.

Tampa Bay forward Cedric Paquette missed last night's tilt after leaving Game 2 with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced in the lineup by 20-year- old rookie Jonathan Drouin.

This is the third playoff meeting between these clubs. The Lightning swept the Canadiens in the 2004 conference semifinals and Montreal returned the favor last spring