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For a second consecutive game, the Canadiens lost 4-3 in the shootout to a Florida-based team.

After losing by that score in Sunrise on Thursday to the Panthers, the Canadiens had a repeat result on Saturday at Amalie Arena against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Cayden Primeau started in goal and made 30 saves in four periods, while making another four saves in the shootout.

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Juraj Slafkovsky was held pointless in his 100th career game.

Joel Armia beat Andrei Vasilevskiy at 1:27 of the first period to put the Habs on the board early.

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Montreal exited the first period with a two-goal lead. Brendan Gallagher won the puck in the corner and fed Jake Evans in front, who redirected the puck to give them a 2-0 advantage.

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The main event of the first might have been Arber Xhekaj and Erik Cernak trading punches in a scrum. Xhekaj said they’d have a rematch later on, and while it never materialized, the post-whistle shenanigans never stopped.

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Like so many nights this season, the Canadiens sandwiched a solid first and third period with a subpar second. Brayden Point halved Montreal’s lead with a back-door goal on Primeau.

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Then Brandon Hagel shook off his man in the corner and found Anthony Cirelli with time and space. Cirelli roofed it on Primeau to send the game into the third period tied 2-2.

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Montreal outshot Tampa Bay 11-4 in the first, got outshot 14-6 in the second and then outshot the Lightning again 13-11 in the third. Cole Caufield originally had his 20th goal of the campaign, but Josh Anderson ended up being credited with the deflection on the 3-2 marker. Caufield will have to wait to reach the 20-goal plateau for a third consecutive season.

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The Habs followed up the goal with a repeat of last game by conceding a shorthanded game-tying goal. Nick Suzuki’s blueline pass was intercepted by the Tampa penalty killers and Tyler Motte took it down the ice for the 11th shorthanded goal given up by Montreal this season. All tied up 3-3.

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Off to overtime we went. The officials kept their whistles silent for much of regulation, but they deemed it necessary to send Caufield to the box on a hooking infraction to give the Lightning a 4-on-3 in OT. They didn’t score, so the Habs found themselves in a shootout for a second consecutive game.

Caufield scored, but so did Steven Stamkos, forcing extra rounds. In round six, Victor Hedman ended it with a blocker side shot.

The sliding Habs entered this current four-game road trip without much wind in their sails, but coach Martin St. Louis can’t complain about pushing the two Florida teams to shootouts. Last night especially, the Habs got offence from unlikely sources beyond the top line. Anyone predicting a steep tumble down the standings in the final 21 games ought to realize things are never so linear in the parity-driven NHL. Even if the Canadiens jettison some veteran leadership prior to the trade deadline, the team’s best players will still be here, and they can do damage on any given night.

All Primeau has done in limited duty this year is prove he deserves a longer leash to become the team’s permanent backup. Here’s how the Liveblog commenters saw last night’s shootout loss.

3. “Good game again by the habs!! No one cares about the shootout or gimmick.” -John Smith

2. “Refs miss two high sticks and a cross check, but call a questionable hooking penalty in OT !?” -DW Thompson

1. “All season long we have talked about the 3 goalie system. But Primeau is looking good and he says that he thinks he is learning and improving by facing NHL shooters in practice and working with Raymond. I thought he was just blowing smoke (what else is the kid gonna say?), but maybe he is right.” -Michael Way

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