TAMPA, Fla. - It took the Montreal Canadiens 28 years to get back to the Stanley Cup final. They'll have to wait a little longer for a win.
The defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning dominated the Habs from start to finish Monday, taking Game 1 in a lopsided 5-1 contest.
Game 2 goes Wednesday in Tampa.
Erik Cernak opened the scoring six minutes into the first period when his outstretched stick tipped a pass from Ondrej Palat past the glove of a surprised Carey Price.
Nikita Kucherov, with a pair of goals, Steven Stamkos and Yanni Gourde also scored for Tampa Bay, while Ben Chiarot managed the lone marker for Montreal.
Price stopped 14 of 19 shots, while at the other end of the ice, Bolts rival Andrei Vasilevskiy was stellar, allowing just the lone goal on 26 shots.