Lightning Embrace Villain Role in Game Three

0:00On April 23rd, Teva Bay Lightning head into Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern, with the series tied one to one. After that overtime win in Game 2, Corey Perry and his teammates are straight up embracing their villain status, knowing the bell center crowd will rain down booze like crazy. Perry, the 40-year-old forward, says it fires him up. When fans target you with the puck, you're doing something right. Perry is not alone in this, guys like Scott Saberin, Brandon Hagel, and Nikita Kutcherov have all earned that heat from Montreal fans. The Lightning led the league in penalties this season, playing that gritty, in-your-face style, their coach John Cooper calls villainous. And after leveling the series Tuesday, they're leaning into it hard. Fans here remember the bad blood. Perry even played one season for the Habs back in 2021, helping them reach the Cup final before Tampa. They crushed them. Now he's the pest shoving players and yelling from the box, just like in that wild, regular

1:03season game, with over 100 penalty minutes. Hagel has three goals already in the series. Drop gloves with a Hab, and mock them with a crybaby gesture. Kutcherov tied Game 2, and still catches Flak from his trash talk after beating Montreal in the Cup final years back. Saberin tried to fight and got penalized. Booze are his fuel too. Back to Rockestart with Tampa and White jerseys playing the bad guys, but these lightning vets thrive on the hate. It all adds edge to the playoffs, pushing both sides to dig deeper as the series heats up. Stay locked in with NHL News Today, AI-powered updates. I'm Corey with The Story.