John Cooper Watches Kucherov Miss Wide-Open Net in Game 5
john cooper watched Nikita Kucherov miss a wide-open cage in the third period of Game 5, then saw Montreal turn that mistake into a 3-2 lead. The Tampa Bay Lightning were tied 2-2 with the Canadiens before the shift, and the swing came in a playoff series that had already been tight through nearly every game.
Kucherov reacted immediately on the Tampa Bay bench. Cameras caught him spiking water bottles and snapping at the boards after the miss, a visible burst of frustration from a 32-year-old winger who had carried a $9.5 million cap hit and finished the regular season with 130 points and a +43 rating.
Kucherov’s Third-Period Miss
The chance was there in open ice. Kucherov had a wide-open cage in Game 5 in Tampa, but the puck did not go in, and Montreal countered right away.
Texier finished the sequence for the Canadiens and flipped a 3-2 Tampa lead into a 3-2 Montreal lead. That was the immediate damage from one empty-net miss, and it changed the scoreboard before Tampa Bay could settle back into the shift.
Montreal Converts Fast
Renaud Lavoie pointed out the moment on TVA Sports, and the video captured the reaction on the bench as much as the missed chance on the ice. Jon Cooper kept his bench short on that shift change, which left little room for Tampa Bay to reset once the counterattack started.
The miss also cut against the way the series had gone up to that point. Kucherov had 6 points through the first 4 games, including 5 assists, while Montreal’s Texier had 3 points across its first 4 playoff games and 21 points in 51 regular season games.
Series Turns Toward Bell Centre
The Lightning had entered Game 5 tied 2-2 with Montreal, and every game in the series had been decided by one goal except Game 5 entering the third period. Victor Hedman had been limited to 33 regular season games because he was hurt, while Brayden Point was minus-2 in the series with 1 power play goal and zero even-strength production; Anthony Cirelli had 2 points and a +6 rating.
For Tampa Bay, the mistake left a one-goal loss hanging on a sequence that started with a missed empty-net chance and ended with Montreal ahead. The series then moved to the Bell Centre on Friday, with the Canadiens carrying the momentum from a shift that turned quickly and cleanly against the Lightning.
