Evans scores again as Canadiens down Lightning 5-2

Jake Evans extended his goal streak to a career-high five consecutive games, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Sunday night.

Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Brendan Gallagher, and Alex Newhook also found the back of the net to secure the Canadiens' fifth win in their last six games.

Sam Montembeault made 21 saves in the victory, while Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel scored for the Lightning. Jonas Johansson stopped 31 shots for Tampa Bay.

Newhook opened the scoring midway through the first period with a one-timer. Hagel equalized just 37 seconds into the second period, but Dvorak and Evans scored 5:54 apart to give Montreal a two-goal lead they held onto.

Key takeaways:

• Montreal has scored four or more goals in six straight games.
• The Canadiens snapped a four-game losing streak to Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay's left wing Jake Guentzel missed the game due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. The Lightning also dropped to 0-7-1 when scoring fewer than three goals.

The key moment came right after Hagel’s second-period goal when Montreal's Lane Hutson took a hooking penalty, giving Tampa Bay a power play. However, Montreal's penalty kill kept the Lightning from getting a shot on goal.

Evans' five-game goal streak is the longest active streak in the NHL.

Looking ahead: Montreal will play in Vegas on Tuesday, while Tampa Bay will face San Jose on Thursday.