Inland Waterways » Dale Weise didnt expect them to score eight in

TAMPA, Fla. -- After the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning combined for 11 goals in four regular-season meetings, Dale Weise didnt expect them to score eight in the first 60 minutes of Game 1 Wednesday night. "But thats playoffs, anything can happen," he said. Anything, including Weise scoring his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal and first NHL overtime winner to give the Habs a 5-4 victory at Tampa Bay Times Forum and a 1-0 lead in the Atlantic Division semifinal series. "I cant remember the last time I had an overtime goal, so that one feels real good," Weise said. It was the kind of back-and-forth affair that bred unpredictability. The Lightning scored four times against Carey Price on 16 shots in regulation, and it seemed like any and every shot could go in. In overtime, the margin for error was almost non-existent. But thats exactly what playoff star Daniel Briere wanted to embrace. "You have to be ready, and thats the beauty of overtime," said Briere, who set Weise up for the winner 18:08 into overtime. "You cant make any mistakes. One shot can end it all." Tampa Bays Teddy Purcell and Montreals Max Pacioretty were close to doing it, but were thwarted by a diving Josh Gorges and the clank of the left post behind Anders Lindback, respectively. Ultimately, that shot belonged to Weise, who earlier in overtime might not have been in position to take it. "We had about two or three similar chances just before and the last shift I kind of backed off on a play. I didnt want to get caught," Weise said. "I came to the bench and (assistant coach Gerard Gallant) said, Dont be afraid to jump in on that one, and thats what I did. (Michael Bournival) and Danny make a great play there, and I wont miss too many from there." Weise and Briere were the heroes, but the games previous 78 minutes had plenty of players putting on an offensive show. Steven Stamkos scored twice to go along with Tampa Bay goals by Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn, while Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, Lars Eller and Thomas Vanek scored for the Habs. The goals were even at four apiece at the end of regulation, but the shots were far from it. The Habs had 35 to the Lightnings 16, taking it to a Tampa Bay team that was so good at puck possession during the regular season. Michel Therriens team just wanted to play a "solid road game" and got that job done. "We kept our composure. We didnt want to get out of our game plan," Therrien said. "The guys stuck to the game plan and they got rewarded at the end. Thats the way I see it." The game didnt go the way some envisioned, specifically after these teams had such low-scoring matchups before. Price said he was not surprised but instead was frustrated he allowed four goals. "Every games different and you never know whats going to happen out there," Price said. "Its tough as a goaltender when teams are capitalizing on scoring chances and theyre getting so few." Price was at his best in overtime when he stopped all nine Lightning shots. Tampa had more shots in overtime than in any of the three previous periods but couldnt cash in. "I thought probably overtime was one of our better periods we played in that game," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "(But) we kept shooting ourselves in the foot time and time again." Mistakes made it a fun game, as eight Lightning players were making their playoff debut at the NHL level. The Habs had only one in Bournival. The inexperience of youth was noticeable at times. "We came out tentative and didnt want to make mistakes, but as the game went on we got more comfortable," Killorn said. "The turnovers at the blue-line cost us." At the end of the night, one defensive-zone mistake cost the Lightning and allowed the Habs to steal the first game on the road. Naturally it was Briere who knew what to expect in overtime and record his 110th playoff point in his 109th career playoff game. "You just have to stay focused," Briere said. "I had the feeling that something good was going to happen. Our line had too many scoring chances that at some point we were going to get a good result." NOTES -- Brandon Prust returned to the Habs lineup after missing the final 12 games of the regular season with a shoulder injury. ... Defencemen Douglas Murray and Jarred Tinordi and forwards George Parros, Alex Galchenyuk, Travis Moen and Ryan White were scratched for Montreal. ... Lightning forward Ondrej Palat did not take a shift after one early in the third period because of an upper-body injury. Cooper said he would be re-evaluated Thursday. ... Gaspe, Que., native Cedric Paquette made his playoff debut after playing his first NHL game, Tampa Bays 81st of the regular season. Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey . 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Vincent Trocheck Jersey . -- Jerry Rice Jr.New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson were both instrumental down the stretch to help the Denver Nuggets snap their seven-game losing streak. Afflalo had a team-high 20 points and Lawson distributed 13 assists in the Nuggets 93-85 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Lawson had just five points on 2-of-12 shooting, but his basket late in the fourth along with a pair of assists to Afflalo aided to the win. Tyreke Evans scored 15 of his 25 points in the third quarter to pace the Pelicans, who had their four-game winning streak halted. Anthony Davis, who temporarily left the game in the third after suffering a leg injury, supplied 24 points and 12 rebounds in the setback. New Orleans trailed by six with under four minutes left in the fourth when Davis converted a runner through the lane before Eric Gordon, who went 4-of-15 shooting for 11 points, knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one. The Nuggets countered as Lawson found Afflalo for a trey, then Lawson made a layup after a nifty drive on forwards Dante Cunningham and Omer Asik, increasing the advantage to 91-85 with 1:34 remaining. We had a few defensive miscues. We gave up some timely (3-pointers). That one from Afflalo was a tough one to come back from, Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. Ryan Anderson was off the mark for the Pelicans and Denver gained an extended possession at the other end after a missed jumper from Lawson went off Davis out of bounds. Afflalo made it count, hitting a jumper on a feed from Lawson to make it an eight-point game, and the Nuggets got back in the win column. Evans 3-pointer gave the Pelicans a 55-54 lead, then he capped an 18-5 surge to open the second half with a jumper the next trip down the floor.dddddddddddd Lawson and Afflalo each connected on 3s, however, to move Denver back in front. Late in the third, New Orleans got a scare when Evans went up top to Davis for an alley-oop, but Kenneth Faried was there to intercept the pass and Davis landed awkwardly. Davis gingerly walked off the floor and was helped into the locker room by the Pelicans staff. After receiving medical attention, he came out of the locker room early in the fourth after what was diagnosed as a groin injury and was immediately inserted back into the game. Both teams went into the fourth tied at 70-70. The Nuggets made five straight shots during a 13-2 run in the first quarter, with Faried and Afflalo each alternating a pair of baskets to help the visitors grab a 24-13 lead. Denver preserved its 11-point margin after the first, then Danilo Gallinari dropped in a 3-pointer over four minutes into the second, extending the lead to 39-23. New Orleans responded with an 8-0 run that Davis capped with six straight points. Gallinari missed a 3 in the closing seconds of the half prior to Faried scrambling for an offensive rebound over Cunningham and making a mid- range jumper for a 49-39 Nuggets lead at the break. Game Notes Denver had dropped 10 of its last 12 on the road entering the game ... Jusuf Nurkic had 15 points and nine rebounds in the win ... New Oreans was successful on just three of its 15 3-pointers ... Denver scored 14 points off 10 Pelicans turnovers. ' ' '