TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning certainly took a fighting attitude into Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against Montreal Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena.

They got some good punches in, and for a while it looked like their muscle-flexing was just what they needed to get back into the series.

In a matchup that could end up going several rounds — the first two games went into overtime — the Lightning fought their way off the mat to even the series at one game apiece with a 3-2 win in overtime.

The series shifts to Montreal for Games 3 and 4 Friday and Sunday.

Defenseman J.J. Moser scored the game-winner with 7:12 left in the extra period, cycling to the right dot and wristing a shot past Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes.

Nikita Kucherov’s first playoff goal in 17 games had tied the score with 7:27 left in regulation.

Brandon Hagel showed he’s the Lightning’s emotional leader, scoring the first goal, dropping gloves with Juraj Slafkovsky and assisting on Kucherov’s tying goal to record the first Gordie Howe hat trick in franchise history.

Here are three moments that mattered.

From power play to penalty kill

Leading 1-0, the Lightning had the puck after a delayed penalty was called on Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson. But on their entry, Kucherov was called for interference following a collision with Kirby Dach at the blue line. Away from the play, Josh Anderson tried to intercept Hagel skating behind the net to get in his face, which led to Anderson having Hagel in a headlock and bringing the Lightning cavalry to his aid. Five players from each team went to the box, but the Lightning ended up taking an extra penalty, as Corey Perry was given a double minor for roughing. The Canadiens again made Tampa Bay pay on the power play with their fourth man-advantage goal of the series on Lane Hutson’s goal from the point with 10 seconds left on the power play.

Kucherov in the clutch

He was one of the postseason’s biggest stars during the Lightning’s three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final, but Kucherov has struggled since. However, on a simple hustle play in the third period with the Lightning desperately needing a goal, Kucherov started to get the monkey off his back. The Canadiens were unable to clear the puck out of their end, and Hagel kept the puck in and shot it toward the net. He missed, but Kucherov beat Cole Caufield to the puck off the end boards and tucked it in past Dobes for a wraparound goal that made it 2-2.

Overtime heroics

Talk about a monkey off your back. The Lightning went into the night having lost 12 of 13 playoff games decided in overtime going back to their 2020 Cup final against Dallas in the Edmonton bubble and 10 of their last 11 postseason games at home.

The Lightning had an dazzling chance on the rush as Dominic James dropped a pass to Yanni Gourde entering the zone and Gourde found James at the near post, but Dobes stopped it.

Right off Anthony Cirelli’s faceoff win from the left dot, Moser collected the puck, kept it in the zone and unloaded a wrister just in front of a Darren Raddysh screen from the right dot past Dobes, setting forth a celebration the Lightning were waiting a long time for.

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