Texier breaks 3rd-period tie, Canadiens beat Lightning 3-2 in Game 5 to take series lead

TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — Alexandre Texier broke a tie 1:06 into the third period and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Rookie Jakub Dobes stopped 38 shots to help Montreal move within a victory of advancing for the first time since losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.

Brendan Gallagher got his first goal in his first game this series and Kirby Dach also scored for the Canadiens.

“It's obviously exciting,” said Gallagher, who was a healthy scratch the first four games. “It's been a fun series to watch. I tried to follow their lead and find a way to contribute and I did that.”

Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal, where the teams split Games 3 and 4. All five games have been decided by one goal, including overtime in the first three.

Dominic James scored his first career playoff goal and Jake Guentzel also connected for the Lightning. They are one loss from being eliminated in the first round for the fourth straight season.

Tampa Bay has lost 10 of its last 12 home games in the postseason despite 460 consecutive sellouts.

“We got no choice now. We got to show up or we're out,” Lightning forward Brayden Point said.

Texier took a long pass from Lane Hutson, skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that bounced off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove and into the net for a 3-2 lead early in the third.

“I'm not a 50-goal scorer,” Texier said. “When I have a chance, I just try to put it on net and sometimes you're lucky it's in and sometimes not.”

The Canadiens jumped ahead three minutes into the game when Gallagher wristed in a rebound after Vasilevskiy kicked away Alex Newhook’s backhander. Gallagher, the 14-year veteran, spent time the first four games giving the young players advice.

“I was happy for him and happy for us,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said about Gallagher. “Really happy the way he's handled everything and not surprised the way he played.”

Seconds after James blasted a slap shot past Dobes on a 2-on-1 breakaway, the Canadiens regained the lead. Dach skated down the left side, went around a defender, lost the puck, kicked it from his skate to his stick in front of the net and put it in.

Dach deactivated his Instagram account after receiving online criticism because his defensive lapse led to the winning goal in overtime in Game 2. He had a goal and an assist in Montreal’s 3-2 overtime win the next game.

Guentzel fired a slap shot between Dobes’ legs on another 2-on-1 breakaway to tie it at 2 late in the second. Guentzel has the best playoff goal-scoring ratio among American-born players in NHL history with 43 goals in 79 games.

The Lightning killed off a four-minute disadvantage after Ryan McDonagh’s double minor for high-sticking in the first period. The Canadiens managed just one shot on net during the power play.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17) watches his shot get past Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) for a goal during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Montréal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) plays a loose puck in front of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) beats Montréal Canadiens center Phillip Danault (24) to a loose puck during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Montréal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Montréal Canadiens players celebrate their win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Nathan Church ended the game by robbing Nick Gonzales of what would have been a game-ending, two-run homer by making a leaping catch at the left-field wall, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Ryan O’Hearn singled with one out in the ninth off Riley O’Brien and Marcell Ozuna struck out on three straight pitches. Gonzales drove a first-pitch slider to left, and Church jumped and caught the ball above the top of the 6-foot wall, 373 feet from home plate.

Gonzales' drive would have been a home run in 27 of the 30 big league ballparks, according to MLB Statcast.

O'Brien escaped with his eighth save in 10 chances as the Cardinals won their third straight in a four-game series that ends Thursday.

Pittsburgh has lost a season-high four straight. The Pirates went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

Andre Pallante (3-2) allowed one run and five hits in a season-high six innings.

Bubba Chandler (1-3) gave up three runs, three hits and four walks in five innings.

JJ Wetherholt hit a go-ahead RBI double in the third and Alec Burleson boosted the lead to 3-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth.

Spencer Horwitz cut the deficit when he homered in the bottom half, but Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker boosted the lead to 5-1 in the seventh with RBI singles against Chris Devenski.

Devenski's contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the 35-year-old right-hander debuted for the Pirates, his seventh major league team. He was charged with one run in two-third of an innings.

Pinch-hitter Nick Yorke had a two-run single in the bottom half against JoJo Romero, and Oneil Cruz grounded into a run-scoring forceout in the eighth off George Soriano.

RHP Hunter Dobbins, acquired from Boston in the Willson Contreras trade in December, is slated to make his Cardinals debut Thursday when Pittsburgh starts reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-2, 2.48).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

St. Louis Cardinals' Victor Scott II (11) steals second base as the ball gets away from Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin (6) steals second base as the ball gets away from St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt with umpire Chris Segal (96) making the call during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) celebrates with catcher Iván Herrera after getting the final out of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) leaps to make the catch on a fly ball by Pittsburgh Pirates' Nick Gonzales to end the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)