The Lightning struck for the game-opening goal at the 6:40 mark of the second period. Tyler Johnson banked a pass off the boards to Cirelli at the right point and his shot snuck through Carey Price with traffic in front.
It took less than four minutes for the Habs to equalize on the power play and tie the game at one. The puck came back to Suzuki off a faceoff win and his backhander from the high slot trickled through Vasilevskiy's five hole.
It looked like the two teams would head to intermission tied 1-1, but the Bolts took advantage of a Montreal turnover in the neutral zone and grabbed the lead back with one second to play in the period. Barclay Goodrow chased down a loose puck and tipped it around Ben Chiarot to create a 2-on-1 with Coleman to his left. Coleman had to dive to reach the pass but managed to get his stick on the puck and deflect it past Price to put Tampa Bay up 2-1.
The game remained tight until a bad turnover by the Canadiens behind their net led to an insurance goal for the Bolts. Joel Edmundson tried to leave the puck for Jeff Petry below the goal line, but Palat swooped in for an interception at the far post and scored before Price had a chance to recover.
After facing only 18 shots from the Habs in the series opener, Vasilevskiy was much busier on Wednesday in Game 2. The 42 saves from Vasilevskiy are the most he's recorded in the 2021 playoffs.
Although Suzuki's goal came on the power play, Tampa Bay's penalty kill still had a solid night, finishing 1-for-3. Their two kills came when Ryan McDonagh was issued a double minor for high-sticking. The Bolts killed off the first half, played mostly at 4-on-3, and the second to keep Montreal from taking the lead early in the second period.
With Alex Killorn unable to play due to an undisclosed injury, Matheiu Joseph returned to the lineup for the first time since Game 3 of the First Round. Johnson moved up to Killorn's spot on the second line and Joseph took over the right wing on the fourth line.
The Cup Final now shifts north of the border to Montreal for Game 3 on Friday night.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
TBL | 6:40 Anthony Cirelli (5) - Tyler Johnson, Jan Rutta
MTL | 10:36 Nick Suzuki (6) - Unassisted - PPG
TBL | 19:59 Blake Coleman (2) - Barclay Goodrow, Ryan McDoangh
3rd Period
TBL | 15:42 Ondrej Palat (5) - Unassisted
