The Stanley Cup Playoffs are only a few days in. However, we’ve already seen what happens when the more desperate team needs to respond to adversity.

It was on full display during a Lightning 3-2 win in overtime against the Canadiens to take Game 2 of the Atlantic Division Semi-Final. Staring at an 0-2 series deficit, the experienced former Stanley Cup champs picked up their intensity to level the first round matchup headed back to Montreal for the next two games.

After Brandon Hagel gave the Lightning an early lead, things heated up between the new rivals. A skirmish involving several players almost resulted in Hagel and Josh Anderson squaring off. As usual, Corey Perry was right in the middle of the chaos, exchanging pleasantries with Alexandre Carrier. Jake Guentzel got in a couple of shots on Jake Evans during the scrum. Nikita Kucherov got the original minor for interference on Kirby Dach.

When the dust settled, the Canadiens wound up with a power play. They took full advantage thanks to Lane Hutson blasting a Nick Suzuki feed past Andrei Vasilevskiy to even the score.

Eventually, in the second period, Hagel got the better of Juraj Slafkovsky in a scrap when he landed an overhand right to that delighted the mostly pro Lightning crowd. Despite that, it was the Canadiens who grabbed a 2-1 lead when Anderson scored in front on a setup from Phillip Danault for his second of the series. The gritty Anderson has been the most effective player for the Habs thus far due to his physicality and willingness to battle in front. He’s become public enemy number one for the Bolts.

After Ryan McDonagh took a bad penalty late in the second, the Lightning were able to kill off the remainder at the start of the third period. When they failed to convert on an Ivan Demidov tripping minor, it looked like they were in big trouble. The faster Habs had done a masterful job of limiting Tampa’s biggest stars by keeping them on the perimeter.

With Jakub Dobes making the crucial stops in front of a stingy defense led by Mike Matheson, it looked like the Habs would leave South Florida with two wins headed back north. However, Kucherov and the Lightning had other plans.

Still needing a goal to at least force overtime, the Bolts’ biggest star finally stepped up when it mattered most. On a good rush from Hagel, his shot deflected off teammate Anthony Cirelli behind the Montreal net. With Dobes expecting to make a save, he was still scrambling when Kucherov quickly picked up the loose puck and tied it on a wrap-around with 7:27 remaining.

The clutch goal ended a 16-game playoff drought for Kucherov. Even the game’s best players can struggle in the postseason. A former Hart winner who’s won three Art Ross Trophies and finished second in scoring with 130 points this season, which trailed only Connor McDavid, Kucherov needed to come through in that spot. He seemed to be pressing prior to tying the game.

Before the end of regulation, Scott Sabourin took an ill-advised interference minor when he leveled Anderson from behind to put the Canadiens on the power play. After it was called a five-minute interference major, it was reviewed by the refs and reduced to a two-minute penalty with 2:10 left.

Facing a dangerous five-man top unit that prominently features Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Demidov, Hutson, and Slafkovsky, the Lightning penalty kill got the job done. Some stellar work allowed the fans to breathe easier as the buzzer sounded to send the game to sudden death.

In Game 1, the Canadiens won it thanks to Slafkovsky completing a hat trick with a power-play goal in overtime. Once again, OT was required to decide a winner in what’s been an exciting series full of emotion.

Unlike the first game, the Lightning dominated the action in overtime by holding the Canadiens without a shot. Showing more urgency, it was the more desperate team that went for it. Despite holding a significant territorial edge, they couldn’t beat Dobes, who made a couple of great saves to give his team a chance at stealing the game. However, it wasn’t meant to be.

On an offensive draw won by Cirelli, J.J. Moser made a great play to keep the puck in before skating into the right circle and beating Dobes glove side to win it at 12:48 of overtime. It was Moser’s first career postseason goal. The defensive defenseman who finished the season with 29 points and a plus-41 rating was able to score in the clutch to tie the series.

Now, they’ll have two days off before Game 3 at the Bell Centre on Friday.