Canadiens beat Lightning 3-2 in OT to take 2-1 lead in all extra-time series

MONTREAL (AP) — Lane Hutson scored on a slap shot at 2:09 of overtime and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series that has opened with three extra-time thrillers.

Hutson fired a shot from the top of right circle that went through traffic and found the top left corner behind goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on the only shot on goal in overtime.

Kirby Dach tied it for Montreal with 7:17 left in the second period. He fired a snap shot through traffic from the top of the right circle that beat Vasilevskiy on the short side.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Montreal. The Canadiens took the opener 4-3 on Sunday and the Lightning countered 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Dach assisted on Alexandre Texier's opening goal at 4:53 of the first period. Jakub Dobes stopped 15 shots,

Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel scored for Tampa Bay, and Vasilevskiy made 26 saves. In the third, Vasilevskiy stymied Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson on breakaways.

Point tied it on a power play at 7:42 of the first. After Dobes was penalized for tripping Yanni Gourde, Point took Jake Guentzel’s centering pass and ripped a shot past Dobes’ blocker from the high slot.

Hagel gave Tampa Bay the lead at 4:47 of the second with his fourth goal of the series. After a Montreal turnover at its own the blue line, Hagel beat Dobes with a snap shot to the short side from the top of the left circle.

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) congratulates teammate Lane Hutson (48) after Hutson's winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning following overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) celebrates with teammate Kaiden Kuhle (21), Jake Evans (71), Jayden Struble (47) and Alexandre Carrier (45) after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) celebrates with teammate Kaiden Kuhle (21) after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach, left, and Tampa Bay Lightning's Emil Lilleberg (78) look on as Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) is scored against by Canadiens' Lane Hutson during overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach (77) reacts to a goal by teammate Lane Hutson against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during overtime in an NHL hockey playoff game in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson celebrates after his winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Alexandre Texier (85) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tampa Bay Lightning's Brandon Hagel, bottom, celebrates after a goal by teammate Brayden Point against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during the first period of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tampa Bay Lightning's Ryan McDonagh (27) is upended by Montreal Canadiens' Josh Anderson (17) during the first period of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save as Montreal Canadiens' Nick Suzuki (14) looks on during the second period of an NHL playoff hockey game in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) makes a save as Tampa Bay Lightning's Jake Guentzel (59) battles for the rebound against Canadiens' Mike Matheson (8) during the first period of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

ROJ CAMP, Syria (AP) — Four Australian families on Friday left a camp in Syria that houses people with alleged ties to militants of the Islamic State group, in a renewed attempt to return to their home country, officials said.

Associated Press journalists saw 13 women and children depart Roj camp, a remote facility near the border with Iraq that houses family members of suspected IS militants, in a bus escorted by a delegation of Syrian government officials.

Lana Hussein, an official with the Women’s Protection Units of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which manages security at the camp, said the departure of the families was organized in coordination with the central government in Damascus.

She said the families were expected to remain in Damascus for a period of around 72 hours and then “they will be deported under security procedures.”

Representatives of the Syrian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television on Saturday “this government is not participating in the repatriation of people in this circumstance.”

Australian security agencies would continue to monitor the situation in Syria to ensure they are prepared for any Australians seeking to return to Australia, a government statement said.

“People in this cohort need to know that if they have committed a crime and if they return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law,” the government said.

Under Australian law, it was an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison to travel to Raqqa in Syria and elsewhere in the caliphate without a legitimate reason from 2014 to 2017.

“The safety of Australians and the protection of Australia’s national interests remain the overriding priority,” the statement added.

A previous attempt to return 34 women and children to Australia from the camp in February was aborted after being turned back by Syrian authorities. Australian authorities at the time said they would not repatriate the families, and the Australian government later issued a temporary exclusion order banning one of the women from returning.

Roj camp is in an area of northeast Syria controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, but the Australians had planned to fly out of Damascus.

Camp officials said at the time that the planned repatriations were organized by family members of the returnees rather than directly by Australian authorities.

Former Islamic State fighters from multiple countries, their wives and children, were held in a network of camps and detention centers in northeast Syria after the militant group lost control of its territory in Syria in 2019. Though defeated, the group still has sleeper cells that carry out deadly attacks in both Syria and Iraq.

The larger al-Hol camp has now been closed down, while thousands of suspected IS militants previously held in Syria were transferred to Iraq by the U.S. military to stand trial there.

The moves came after fighting broke out between government forces and the SDF in January. Government forces seized much of the territory formerly held by the SDF. Amid the chaos and clashes, many detainees fled al-Hol and some prisoners escaped from a detention center.

Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance.

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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed.

A soldier stands guard as vehicles arrive at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, to transport Australian families to Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A brick wall surrounds a tent camp housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Members of Australian families at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Members of Australian families at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Members of Australian families at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)