"I think it just shows the type of character we have," Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman said. "Whoever's in or out of the lineup, it doesn't matter, we all work for each other and everybody fills their role and plays their part. It's fun playing like this. Everybody can feel the passion we have and everybody's coming along, playing well together, and we're effective when we play like that. Unfortunately it hasn't been consistent enough this year, that's why we are where we are, but we're still giving us a chance. That's all we can ask for at this point. It's obviously not in our hands, but who knows? We do what we can do, and then we'll see."
WATCH: All Lightning vs. Canadiens highlights
The Lightning have one game remaining, against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. Tampa Bay would be eliminated if Toronto wins either of its two remaining games, against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday or against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
"We can't really control anything, but we'll have to wait and see [Saturday] night how the game unfolds, but we'll make sure to prepare for Sunday like it's our season on the line," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. "We'll see what happens [Saturday] night, but it's out of our control."
Yanni Gourde scored twice, Nikita Kucherov scored his 40th goal and had an assist, and Alex Killorn scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves in his third straight start.
Dwight King and Artturi Lehkonen scored, and Carey Price made 18 saves for Montreal (46-26-9), which finished its home schedule 24-12-5.
"That was a desperate team we played tonight," Price said. "They came out firing and they obviously capitalized on some chances that we gave them, and you've got to give that team credit, they played pretty well tonight."
