July 5 (UPI) -- The Montreal Canadiens avoided being swept in the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Monday night's Game 4 at Bell Centre in Quebec.
Josh Anderson's overtime goal helped the Canadiens force another game in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa, with the defending champion Lightning holding a 3-1 lead.
Anderson put the Canadiens ahead 1-0 when he buried a centering pass from Nick Suzuki late in the first period. Suzuki maneuvered around a sprawling David Savard and found Anderson, who quickly lasered a shot past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy with 4:21 left in the frame.
Lightning forward Barclay Goodrow tied the game with 2:40 remaining in the second period after a spectacular play by teammate Ryan McDonagh. The veteran defenseman broke up a pass to keep the puck in the offensive zone, then dished a no-look pass to Goodrow to level the score.
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Midway through the third period, Canadiens rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov snuck a wrist shot past Vasilevskiy from the right point to give his club a 2-1 lead. Exactly five minutes later, veteran winger Pat Maroon beat Canadiens netminder Carey Price on a cross-crease opportunity to force overtime.
Just 3:57 into the extra period, Anderson scored his second goal of the game to help the Canadiens stay alive in the championship series.
Price stopped 32 shots for the Canadiens, who managed to kill off Shea Weber's double-minor penalty for high-sticking late in regulation. Montreal became the first team to score in OT to avoid a sweep in the Stanley Cup Final since the Boston Bruins did so in 1946 against the Canadiens.
Vasilevskiy made 18 saves for the Lightning, who are attempting to become the league's second team to win consecutive championships in the salary-cap era (since 2005). The Pittsburgh Penguins accomplished the feat with championship wins in 2016 and 2017.
