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MONTREAL (Ticker) --
Jan Bulis
took advantage of a favorable call to help the
Montreal Canadiens
record their first win over the
Tampa Bay Lightning
in nearly two years.
Bulis scored a power-play goal with 77 seconds left to give the Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the slumping Lightning.
The 25-year-old left wing drew a high-sticking penalty on Tampa Bay defenseman
Dan Boyle
, then took advantage 93 seconds later.
"I faked it a bit on that penalty before my goal," Bulis admitted. "I did feel the stick of
Dan Boyle
on my neck. I touched my neck, I looked up. I saw the referee was watching me. ... The referee looked at me again and he went for it."
Bulis skated down the right side and swept the puck off the bottom of goaltender
Nikolai Khabibulin
's blocker and into the net for his third game-winner and fifth goal.
"I didn't have much time for my shot. I don't even know what kind of a shot it was," Bulis said. "I know I was on my backhand. The puck was rolling, I gave it a quick flip. I surprised Khabibulin on that. Even behind his mask, he looked shocked."
It was Montreal's third straight game with a power-play tally as it improved to 3-1-1 in the last five contests.
Just over two minutes earlier,
Vincent Lecavalier
tied it for Tampa Bay with his 10th goal. He spun at the left faceoff circle and beat goalie
Jose Theodore
with a wrist shot for his first goal in seven games.
But Theodore made 24 saves for his 100th NHL win.
Saku Koivu
scored his first goal of the season and
Richard Zednik
added his eighth as Montreal snapped a three-game home winless streak.
"It's so nice to finally get my first goal," said Koivu, who missed the first 13 games due to a knee injury. "It's a real relief. It's been a long time coming."
The Canadiens are 2-0-1 in their last three contests for their longest unbeaten streak since October 11-16.
Tim Taylor
notched the other goal for Tampa Bay, whose winless streak reached five games (0-3-2).
"We did some good things, but we are struggling," Lightning captain
Dave Andreychuk
said. "There were a few positives in this game that we did come back. Tonight was one of those nights. We got a 1-0 lead, but we didn't score again until late in the game when Vinny got us the goal."
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