Canadiens’ Slafkovsky Wins Game 1 With Record-Tying Hat Trick – Hockey Writers –

The records keep coming for the Montreal Canadiens, with forward Juraj Slafkovsky getting in on the action this time. He ended Game 1 in overtime with his third goal to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Sunday in Tampa. It was also his third power play goal of the game, making him the first Hab in history to accomplish the feat in the playoffs.

Slafkovsky Pays Lightning for Misconduct

In a record-tying effort, Slafkovsky curled a shot past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy from the penalty spot, with assists from Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki, at 1:22 of the second frame. Lightning forward Jake Guentzel took a hard hitting penalty on defenseman Kaiden Guhle in the dying seconds of regulation to put the Canadiens on the power play.

Slafkovsky also tied the game at 2-2 in the second period off Ivan Demidov (Cole Caufield getting the second assist)… and gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead five minutes into the third, when Caufield gave him a different time deep in the slot (Suzuki got the second assist). Conor Geekie had Hutson score to put the Canadiens on the power play with a 2-2 goal. Anthony Cirelli singled in Slafkovsky to make it a 3-2 lead.

Lightning forward Brandon Hagel tied it 3-3 three minutes later, his second of the game, also coming on the power play. He had initially given the Bolts their first lead of the game with a 29-second advantage after Darren Raddysh tied the game. Josh Anderson opened the scoring for the Canadiens for the first time.

The Historic 2025-26 Canadiens Season Gets Bigger

The first to score one in overtime, Slafkovsky joined 12 other players to score three power play goals in a playoff game, Jonathan Toews being the most recent in 2010 in the second round Game 4 win over the Vancouver Canucks, en route to the Stanley Cup Final. The first player to accomplish this feat was Detroit Red Wings forward Syd Howe in Game 2 of their first round series against the Canadiens in 1939. The Wings would win the game and the best-of-three series (in three games), before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2.

The regular-season record for four power-play goals in a single game is a record held by eight players, including Canadiens forward Bernie Geoffrion, who scored five against the New York Rangers on Feb. 19, 1955, in a 10-2 Habs victory. That was the season in which Geoffrion passed teammate Maurice Richard to win the Art Ross Trophy, and the latter was suspended late in the season, leading to the Richard Riot.

Slafkovsky’s hat trick is the first hat trick for the Canadiens since Rene Bourque scored three (of his impressive eight post-season goals) in Game 5 against the New York Rangers in the 2014 third round. The last Canadiens player to score a playoff hat trick that included an overtime goal was defenseman Eric 29 Cup Final, which marked the last time the Canadiens won the Cup.

Already this season, the Habs have seen Cole Caufield become the team’s first leading scorer since 1990, Nick Suzuki become the team’s first 100-point scorer since 1986 and Lane Hutson tie Larry Robinson’s single-season record for points by a defenseman (66-66667). Meanwhile, Slafkovsky set a career high with 30 goals, 43 assists and 73 points, falling short of his career high of 51 last season. Notably, he already has more than two playoff goals in five games last spring. The Canadiens and Lightning play Game 2 on Tuesday night, also in Tampa.