Tampa, Florida - The Tampa Bay Lightning meant business as they easily struck down the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.

The Lightning started their title defense in style on Monday night by dominating the Habs with a crushing 5-1 win on their home ice to take a 1-0 series lead.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (26) was amazing in goal again for Tampa, although he only needed to stop 18 of 19 shots, while the rest of his team played hard for the win. Nikita Kucherov had a great game, scoring two goals and adding an assist, while Brayden Point helped out with three assists as the Lightning took the game out of Montreal’s hands early.

It seemed for the first puck drop that Tampa was out to give Montreal a taste of their own medicine. This time, it was the Lightning throwing their bodies around: 57 hits, to the Canadiens’ 58. The home team also got down and dirty, laying out for 15 blocked shots, a big key to such an easy night for Vasilevskiy.

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While the final score may not show it, the Canadiens did spend much of the game trying to stay step-for-step with the Lightning. They got on the scoreboard late in the second period to cut Tampa’s lead to 2-1 thanks to Ben Chiarot’s first goal this postseason. But the third belonged to the Bolts, as they lit the lamp again and again, putting away the Habs for good.

Erik Cernak, Yanni Gourde, and captain Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning.

The Lightning seem to be in control after such a spectacular performance and can take a comfortable two-game lead in the series if they win again on Wednesday. However, don’t count out the Canadiens just yet. Montreal managed to even things up in Game 2 of the semifinal round against the Golden Knights, and things ended well for them there.

Repeating history against the defending Stanley Cup champions, however, might be a different proposition.

Game 2 is on Wednesday night, again from Tampa.