TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a strong start against the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final, scoring three times in the third period in posting a 5-1 victory Monday night.

The defending champions built a 2-1 lead for goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on goals by Erik Cernak and Yanni Gourde in the first two periods.

Nikita Kucherov scored twice and Steven Stamkos added a late goal as Tampa Bay won going away. Montreal was limited to 18 shots on goal all night.

Tampa Bay put 26 shots on Montreal netminder Carey Price.

Vasilevskiy, a favorite to win the Vezina Trophy for the second time in three years, had 13 saves through two periods. He lost a bid for a fifth shutout this postseason when Ben Chiarot scored his first career playoff goal for the Canadiens.

Chiarot hit the post early in the second period with his team trailing 1-0. He finally got Montreal on the scoreboard when a shot that deflected off Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev eventually made it through Vasilevskiy at 17:40 of the period.

Cernak also scored his first career postseason goal for Tampa Bay. The defenseman playing in his 46th playoff game beat Price from the slot off a pass from Ondrej Palat at 6:19 of the opening period.

Gourde redirected Blake Coleman’s shot for a 2-0 lead at 5:47 of the second.

Playoff goals leader Brayden Point also assisted Cernak’s goal for Tampa Bay, which has never won Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final. Point missed the net on a power-play opportunity, and Price made a nice glove save to deny Steven Stamkos from adding to Montreal’s deficit.

Price is making his Stanley Cup Final debut in his 14th season with the Canadiens. He is the first goaltender in league history to win more than 400 regular-season and playoff games combined before appearing in a Cup Final.

Meanwhile, center Jake Evans is in the Canadiens lineup after missing nine games due to a concussion.

Montreal forward Joel Armia was scratched, however, after being cleared from COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day.

The Lightning are in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time since 2015.