Lightning rally for 5 goals to take Stanley Cup Final Game 1

TAMPA, Fla. — Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is in the books as the Tampa Bay Lightning look to become back-to-back champs. The Lightning won 5-1. Here's how it played out. Also, join in on the conversation by following us on Twitter.

11:00 p.m.

That's a final! The Tampa Bay Lightning run away with Game 1 with a thrilling 5-1 win.

10:53 p.m.

Steven Stamkos gets in on the fun. It's 5-1.

10:53 p.m.

It's announced that Nikita Kucherov gets credit for the third goal, now Palat.

10:51 p.m.

The Canadiens are making things very hard on themselves.

Another penalty gives the Lightning a 5-3 power play.

10:46 p.m.

The Lightning kill the Coleman penalty. Almost immediately after the kill, Jesperi Kotkaniemi gets called for a penalty, and now Tampa Bay heads on the power play.

10:42 p.m.

Blake Coleman goes to the box for two for roughing. Montreal gets another power play.

10:37 p.m.

There were concerns about the health of Nikita Kucherov before Game 1 began.

Well, he just scored a 3rd period goal to give the Lightning a 4-1 lead.

10:20 p.m.

Ondrej Palat scores on an absolutely bizarre goal. Bounced every which way and into the net.

The Lightning now lead 3-1 early in the 3rd.

10:16 p.m.

The 3rd period is underway with just one goal separating the Lightning and Canadiens. 

9:57 p.m.

The 2nd period comes to an end with the Lightning still on top, but the Canadiens regained some toward the end of the frame.

It's 2-1 after 2.

9:52 p.m.

Ben Chiarot gets Montreal on the board with 2:20 left in the 2nd period. The Lightning lead 2-1.

9:39 p.m.

The President of the United States and the Canadian Prime Minister have entered a friendly wager for the Stanley Cup Final.

President Biden has tweeted his support for the Bolts.

9:29 p.m.

Yanni Gourde redirects a shot off the stick of Blake Coleman and the Lightning go up by two.

It's 2-0 in the 2nd.

9:21 p.m.

The Canadiens kill the power play. Montreal has now killed 31 penalties in a row.

9:20 p.m.

The puck has dropped and the 2nd period is underway with the Lightning on the power play.

9:01 p.m.

The Lightning head into the 2nd period with a 1-goal lead and a power play. 

It's 1-0 after the 1st period at Amalie.

8:59 p.m.

The Lightning will now go on the the power play after Chiarot gets two minutes in the penalty box for roughing.

8:57 p.m.

The Lightning looked good on the penalty kill. They didn't allow a single shot on goal and remain ahead of the Canadiens by one goal late in the 1st.

8:55 p.m.

The Canadiens will have the first power play of the Stanley Cup Final after Barclay Goodrow gets called for cross-checking. There's 4:39 left in the 1st period.

8:49 p.m.

This game is off to a physical start, with nearly 40 hits already with 6:19 left in the 1st period.

8:36 p.m.

Erik Cernak redirects the puck into the back of the net for a goal in the first period at 6:19. His goal is the first playoff goal of his career and it gives the Bolts a 1-0 lead in the 1st.

8:23 p.m.

8:19 p.m.

In contrast with the previous update, the Lightning are unsurprisingly greeted with roars from the crowd at Amalie. Last year, no fans saw the Lightning win the Cup. Tonight, capacity is increased to 16,300 fans.

8:17 p.m.

The Montreal Canadiens are being introduced on the ice and are greeted with boos at Amalie.

8:05 p.m.

We are moments away from the opening face off at Amalie Arena. Follow along below.

Pre-game coverage:

Monday is Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but it's only one game. The Tampa Bay Lightning are playing in their fourth cup final but they have never won a Game 1 of this monumental series.

In 2004, when they won it all in seven games, the Bolts lost game one to Calgary 4-1. In 2015, they would lose the series to Chicago, as well as game one 2-1. 

Last year, the Lightning took the Cup for the second time ever but lost game one 4-1 to the Dallas Stars.

Tampa Bay has a team that knows the feeling of winning the cup and they don't want to give it up quite yet.

"[We] used that experience that we had last year in terms of you know fulfilling your ultimate dream of winning the Stanley Cup and realizing how amazing that feeling is and knowing how hard it was to accomplish that," Captain Steven Stamkos said Sunday morning. 

Montreal is a hungry franchise looking for their first Championship since 1993. The Lightning are going for their third since 2004. 

Puck drops just after 8:00 p.m. Monday night in Tampa.

Capacity for the Stanley Cup Final has been increased to 16,300 fans at Amalie Arena, reports 10 Sports' Grace Remington, or about 76 percent capacity. 

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