Habs survive again, force Game 6 vs. Lightning

Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - Montreal stayed alive for at least one more game.

Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period and the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Saturday.

Devante Smith-Pelly also lit the lamp while Carey Price turned away 24 shots for the Canadiens, who dropped the first three games of the series before winning the past two.

"We didn't ever give up," said Parenteau. "We absolutely wanted to go back to Tampa. We don't want it to end now."

Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning, who got 27 saves from Ben Bishop in the loss.

"It's tough when you only show up for half the game," said Bishop. "We had a good third period, but that's about it and you're not going to win a game that way."

Game 6 is Tuesday in Tampa Bay.

Tampa had tied the game near the midway mark of the third, but the Habs went back on top with 4:07 to play.

P.K. Subban kept the puck in at the right point and danced around a defender to get clear for a pass to the slot for Parenteau, whose one-timer nicked off the crossbar and went in.

Tampa got Bishop out of the net with around 1 1/2 minutes to play, but was unable to get any solid chances before the final horn sounded.

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the first as Smith-Pelly's shot from the top of the left circle beat Bishop high to the blocker side for his first goal of the playoffs.

Bishop turned aside 10 shots in the second, while Price made six saves and just got a piece of a Valtteri Filppula one-timer from the right circle about nine minutes into the third period.

Tampa, though, tied the game with 10:33 to play in the third after Anton Stralman got a shot on net from the high slot and Stamkos finished off the rebound for his second goal of the playoffs.

Game Notes

The Lightning didn't have a three-game losing streak during the regular season ... Montreal was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Tampa didn't have a power play in the contest ... In the other two postseason meetings between the teams, the Lightning swept Montreal in the 2004 conference semifinals on the way to a Stanley Cup title and the Habs returned the favor last year.