Deadspin | Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky completes hat trick in OT, stuns Lightning 
Apr 19, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky (20) scores a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Juraj Slafkovsky netted his hat-trick game-winner 1:22 into the postseason’s first overtime as the visiting Montreal Canadiens stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
After the Lightning’s Jake Guentzel committed a high-sticking penalty with 21 seconds left in regulation, Montreal cashed in after the break as Slafkovsky took a pass from Lane Hutson and zipped the winner in Tampa, Fla.
It gave the 30-goal scorer his third power-play marker of the night as he became the first Montreal player to record a hat trick in the Stanley Cup playoffs since Rene Bourque in 2014 as the Canadiens wrested away home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.
“You’ve got to be able to play any position out there,” said Slafkovsky, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick who netted his goals from the left and right circles plus the slot. “We just kind of rotate and find the open guy who can shoot it. We had so many chances. … I’m happy with the results so far.”
Josh Anderson scored the other goal for the Canadiens while Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki notched two assists apiece. Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes made 20 saves.
The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel scored on the man advantage and at even strength while Darren Raddysh scored on the power play. Guentzel posted three assists and Nikita Kucherov had two.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 of 19 shots as Montreal went 3-for-5 on the power play.
“I had a problem with us,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper when asked whether he had an issue with the officiating. “Come on, we took four offensive-zone penalties. Just look at them. That’s not overaggression, that’s like, stupidity. A lot of them. So that was on us.
“That was a game that we just gave them an opportunity to win. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. This isn’t Game 62. So that is extremely disappointing in the way we conducted ourselves and the amount of penalties we took. … There are no excuses. Nothing.”
Montreal defenseman Alexandre Carrier won a puck battle from his knees behind the home side’s net in the first period, then Anderson took Carrier’s feed and roofed the series’ first marker at 13:24.
Just 12 seconds after another Anderson tally was waved off due to a high stick, Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous was sandwiched between hard checks by Jake Evans and Anderson. While Anderson was assessed a minor, D’Astous eventually got to his feet and was helped off but did not return.
Tampa Bay’s offense took off from there.
Raddysh, a 22-goal scorer, rocketed a power-play tally at 12:15. Hagel found a puck to the left of the cage and lifted one in just 29 seconds later for the Lightning’s first lead in the series.
During a late power play after Tampa Bay’s Conor Geekie went off for high sticking, the Habs moved the puck quickly. Slafkovsky blistered a one-timer from the right circle with 24 seconds left in the second period to make it 2-2.
On another power play in the third, Montreal took its second lead on more nifty passing. Slafkovsky buried his second goal from the low slot at 5:56 off a feed from Caufield.
But Hagel matched it with a man-advantage tap-in two minutes later on Guentzel’s third assist.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Canadiens #Juraj #Slafkovsky #completes #hat #trick #stuns #Lightning
Apr 19, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky (20) scores a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Juraj Slafkovsky netted his hat-trick game-winner 1:22 into the postseason’s first overtime as the visiting Montreal Canadiens stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
After the Lightning’s Jake Guentzel committed a high-sticking penalty with 21 seconds left in regulation, Montreal cashed in after the break as Slafkovsky took a pass from Lane Hutson and zipped the winner in Tampa, Fla.
It gave the 30-goal scorer his third power-play marker of the night as he became the first Montreal player to record a hat trick in the Stanley Cup playoffs since Rene Bourque in 2014 as the Canadiens wrested away home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.
“You’ve got to be able to play any position out there,” said Slafkovsky, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick who netted his goals from the left and right circles plus the slot. “We just kind of rotate and find the open guy who can shoot it. We had so many chances. … I’m happy with the results so far.”
Josh Anderson scored the other goal for the Canadiens while Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki notched two assists apiece. Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes made 20 saves.
The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel scored on the man advantage and at even strength while Darren Raddysh scored on the power play. Guentzel posted three assists and Nikita Kucherov had two.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 of 19 shots as Montreal went 3-for-5 on the power play.
“I had a problem with us,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper when asked whether he had an issue with the officiating. “Come on, we took four offensive-zone penalties. Just look at them. That’s not overaggression, that’s like, stupidity. A lot of them. So that was on us.
“That was a game that we just gave them an opportunity to win. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. This isn’t Game 62. So that is extremely disappointing in the way we conducted ourselves and the amount of penalties we took. … There are no excuses. Nothing.”
Montreal defenseman Alexandre Carrier won a puck battle from his knees behind the home side’s net in the first period, then Anderson took Carrier’s feed and roofed the series’ first marker at 13:24.
Just 12 seconds after another Anderson tally was waved off due to a high stick, Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous was sandwiched between hard checks by Jake Evans and Anderson. While Anderson was assessed a minor, D’Astous eventually got to his feet and was helped off but did not return.
Tampa Bay’s offense took off from there.
Raddysh, a 22-goal scorer, rocketed a power-play tally at 12:15. Hagel found a puck to the left of the cage and lifted one in just 29 seconds later for the Lightning’s first lead in the series.
During a late power play after Tampa Bay’s Conor Geekie went off for high sticking, the Habs moved the puck quickly. Slafkovsky blistered a one-timer from the right circle with 24 seconds left in the second period to make it 2-2.
On another power play in the third, Montreal took its second lead on more nifty passing. Slafkovsky buried his second goal from the low slot at 5:56 off a feed from Caufield.
But Hagel matched it with a man-advantage tap-in two minutes later on Guentzel’s third assist.
–Field Level Media
![Kevin Knight is here, he’s hungry, and ready to take over AEW Kevin Knight’s rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. A year that began with Knight having a promising run as one of All Elite Wrestling’s up-and-coming stars morphed over the course of 2026 into something much, much larger. Knight captured individual gold by winning the TNT Championship in April, and now he’s on the precipice of the biggest match of his career. Knight will stand across the ring from AEW World Champion Kenny Omega at Redemption in Montreal, headlining a pay-per-view and looking to shatter expectations in the process.I talked with Knight this week in the lead up to his match against Omega to learn what makes him tick as a wrestler, understand the decision behind joining The Don Callis Family, and learn that in a world of heroes and villans, Knight is perfectly comfortable to exist in the grey area.A turning point for Knight came in May at Double or Nothing when he shocked the world by turning on Darby Allin and joining with Don Callis to close the show. It felt like a staggering rejection of his role as fan-favorite inside the company, but it was clinical for Knight. This wasn’t about trying to become hated, but trying to elevate himself.“The goal has stayed the same,” Knight says, “become Jet 2 Belts.” Not only does he want to hold onto his TNT title, but to win the AEW World Championship as well, asserting himself at the top. “I saw the opportunity to overtake this company after Double or Nothing and figured I need to invest in myself.“Getting myself with the Don Callis Family and, seeing how he moves and how, how he’s brought so many championships to AEW, it was a no-brainer, and it’s been nothing but success ever since.”Knight speaks plainly in a business so influenced by emotion. Joining Callis wasn’t a conscious decision to make fans angry or to reject his longtime friend “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but came about organically, as with any difficult change an athlete needs to make. The NFL player demanding a trade, the NBA star making a decision — Knight is walking the same line.“He’s [Callis] been here from day one, and he’s seen people come and go. He’s seen all different types of performers, so he snatched me up. I was tagged with Speedball Mike Bailey, and he had a smile, and he was just naive to the politics of it all. [Don’s] smartened me up, giving me another angle, another perspective in attacking this game that we call wrestling.”If pro wrestling is a game, then Kenny Omega is its final boss. Not only is “The Best Bout Machine” the world champion, but he is also regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Knight might have faced a lot of challenges, but fighting Omega in Canada for a championship is on a different level. Still, Knight feels like he might have an edge — and he’s excited to“Always attack his weaknesses, attacking his weaknesses and, and knowing who he is as a person, and, and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Don Callis has known Kenny a long, long, long time, so he’s priming me up. He’s giving me some game on Kenny’s blind spots. We all love Kenny as a person, but he’s careless in some ways — so, whenever I see those openings, I’m definitely gonna definitely going to attack, take advantage.”It’s not lost on Knight that a majority of wrestling fans are writing him off on Sunday. The lingering perception is that Omega will win, move on to All In at Wembley Stadium, and have another epic match against Will Ospreay. That’s a narrative Knight isn’t willing to accept.“People are expecting this long-life anime fantasy between Omega and Osprey. Redemption is gonna be a change of course, and we’re gonna see a new era. We’re gonna see a new superstar rise to the top. I laugh at the people who look past this match. I use it as more fuel, because I love being a spoiler.”It’s big talk, but Kevin Knight has backed it up in recent months. He’s on a nine-match win streak, perfectly part of his “vision board,” which includes winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, and then involves becoming the face of the company.“If all goes to plan, Jet Two Belts becomes a reality this upcoming Sunday, and I don’t see myself relinquishing it for anybody, that comes my way. I think I will let up and maybe relinquish the TNT title or, you know, let the other people have a little bit of fun. don’t wanna take up all the time at AEW, but AEW is gonna be set up in the next 6 months if The Jet is on top.”The groundwork for this run, this chance at the championship is built on the backs of people who lifted up Kevin Knight along the way. I asked him for his personal wrestling Mount Rushmore, the individuals who have meant the most to him during his career.“Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida, because they helped mold me. From a young lion to my first couple of tours in New Japan and being able to do Impact as well alongside Kushida. Those two guys definitely mean a lot to me. I gotta throw in there Speedball Mike Bailey because one of my first tours in Japan, one of my first matches in TNA/ Impact was against him, and then, of course, our whole run as Jet Speed and everything that we’ve been able to accomplish together. It means a lot to me, on a sentimental level. Fourth, I would like to give it up to Tony Khan just for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and show the world who and what I am, giving me the opportunity to try new things and just always encouraging me.”This is only the beginning for Kevin Knight, who will be a staple of the pro-wrestling landscape for a long, long time — win or lose.Kevin Knight will face Kenny Omega at AEW Redemption, which will air on Sunday, July 26 from CentreBell in Montreal, Canada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET #Kevin #Knight #hes #hungry #ready #AEW](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/knight.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C4.865499187579%2C100%2C90.269001624842&ssl=1 "Kevin Knight is here, he’s hungry, and ready to take over AEW Kevin Knight’s rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. A year that began with Knight having a promising run as one of All Elite Wrestling’s up-and-coming stars morphed over the course of 2026 into something much, much larger. Knight captured individual gold by winning the TNT Championship in April, and now he’s on the precipice of the biggest match of his career. Knight will stand across the ring from AEW World Champion Kenny Omega at Redemption in Montreal, headlining a pay-per-view and looking to shatter expectations in the process.I talked with Knight this week in the lead up to his match against Omega to learn what makes him tick as a wrestler, understand the decision behind joining The Don Callis Family, and learn that in a world of heroes and villans, Knight is perfectly comfortable to exist in the grey area.A turning point for Knight came in May at Double or Nothing when he shocked the world by turning on Darby Allin and joining with Don Callis to close the show. It felt like a staggering rejection of his role as fan-favorite inside the company, but it was clinical for Knight. This wasn’t about trying to become hated, but trying to elevate himself.“The goal has stayed the same,” Knight says, “become Jet 2 Belts.” Not only does he want to hold onto his TNT title, but to win the AEW World Championship as well, asserting himself at the top. “I saw the opportunity to overtake this company after Double or Nothing and figured I need to invest in myself.“Getting myself with the Don Callis Family and, seeing how he moves and how, how he’s brought so many championships to AEW, it was a no-brainer, and it’s been nothing but success ever since.”Knight speaks plainly in a business so influenced by emotion. Joining Callis wasn’t a conscious decision to make fans angry or to reject his longtime friend “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but came about organically, as with any difficult change an athlete needs to make. The NFL player demanding a trade, the NBA star making a decision — Knight is walking the same line.“He’s [Callis] been here from day one, and he’s seen people come and go. He’s seen all different types of performers, so he snatched me up. I was tagged with Speedball Mike Bailey, and he had a smile, and he was just naive to the politics of it all. [Don’s] smartened me up, giving me another angle, another perspective in attacking this game that we call wrestling.”If pro wrestling is a game, then Kenny Omega is its final boss. Not only is “The Best Bout Machine” the world champion, but he is also regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Knight might have faced a lot of challenges, but fighting Omega in Canada for a championship is on a different level. Still, Knight feels like he might have an edge — and he’s excited to“Always attack his weaknesses, attacking his weaknesses and, and knowing who he is as a person, and, and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Don Callis has known Kenny a long, long, long time, so he’s priming me up. He’s giving me some game on Kenny’s blind spots. We all love Kenny as a person, but he’s careless in some ways — so, whenever I see those openings, I’m definitely gonna definitely going to attack, take advantage.”It’s not lost on Knight that a majority of wrestling fans are writing him off on Sunday. The lingering perception is that Omega will win, move on to All In at Wembley Stadium, and have another epic match against Will Ospreay. That’s a narrative Knight isn’t willing to accept.“People are expecting this long-life anime fantasy between Omega and Osprey. Redemption is gonna be a change of course, and we’re gonna see a new era. We’re gonna see a new superstar rise to the top. I laugh at the people who look past this match. I use it as more fuel, because I love being a spoiler.”It’s big talk, but Kevin Knight has backed it up in recent months. He’s on a nine-match win streak, perfectly part of his “vision board,” which includes winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, and then involves becoming the face of the company.“If all goes to plan, Jet Two Belts becomes a reality this upcoming Sunday, and I don’t see myself relinquishing it for anybody, that comes my way. I think I will let up and maybe relinquish the TNT title or, you know, let the other people have a little bit of fun. don’t wanna take up all the time at AEW, but AEW is gonna be set up in the next 6 months if The Jet is on top.”The groundwork for this run, this chance at the championship is built on the backs of people who lifted up Kevin Knight along the way. I asked him for his personal wrestling Mount Rushmore, the individuals who have meant the most to him during his career.“Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida, because they helped mold me. From a young lion to my first couple of tours in New Japan and being able to do Impact as well alongside Kushida. Those two guys definitely mean a lot to me. I gotta throw in there Speedball Mike Bailey because one of my first tours in Japan, one of my first matches in TNA/ Impact was against him, and then, of course, our whole run as Jet Speed and everything that we’ve been able to accomplish together. It means a lot to me, on a sentimental level. Fourth, I would like to give it up to Tony Khan just for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and show the world who and what I am, giving me the opportunity to try new things and just always encouraging me.”This is only the beginning for Kevin Knight, who will be a staple of the pro-wrestling landscape for a long, long time — win or lose.Kevin Knight will face Kenny Omega at AEW Redemption, which will air on Sunday, July 26 from CentreBell in Montreal, Canada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET #Kevin #Knight #hes #hungry #ready #AEW")
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