The Eastern Conference First Round matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens heads north of the border this weekend, tied at one game each. Following two action-packed overtime results, the Lightning haven't played their best hockey, but haven't played their worst, either. However, there is one force out there keeping the Lightning grounded and headed in the right direction as we enter a pivotal point in the series: Brandon Hagel.

J.J. Moser scored at 12:48 of overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a much-needed win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round over the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night, 3-2. The victory evens the series at 1-1 as the best-of-seven matchup moves to Montreal Friday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in an all-too-familiar situation after Sunday evening's loss to the Montreal Canadiens in overtime: in an early series deficit. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater quite yet. It's only the first game, and there's still a great deal of hockey left to be played.

Anthony Cirelli earned a hat trick, and Zemgus Girgensons scored the game-winning goal as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, 6-3. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists. The win placed the Lightning back in a tie for first place with the Buffalo Sabres in the very competitive Atlantic Division.

Erik Cernak scored the game-winning goal with less than four minutes to play, and Darren Raddysh had a goal and two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning fought back from a two-goal deficit twice to beat the Minnesota Wild, 6-3.

Conor Garland scored twice as the Columbus Blue Jackets dismantled the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night, 5-2. Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan had two assists each. The loss was the sixth in seven games for the Bolts, who have been mired in lackluster play since returning from the Olympic Break at the end of February.

Brayden Point returned to the lineup for the first time in 11 games to score twice and earn an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday night, 4-2. Nikita Kucherov and Gage Goncalves both had a goal and two assists, while Charles-Édouard D'Astous added two assists.