Kucherov stars as Lightning crush Canadiens in Stanley Cup final opener

• Stanley Cup final Game 1: Montreal 1-5 Tampa Bay
• Canadiens appear in their first final since 1993

Playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves to outplay Carey Price and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Monday night.

Kucherov put the defending champs up 3-1 early in the third period with a fluky goal that Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot tried to bat down with his hand before it wound up in the net.