Members of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate a goal as Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens reacts in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 6, 2015 in Tampa, Florida.Mike Carlson/Getty Images
The red-painted pipes that front an NHL net are just over six centimetres in diameter, plenty large enough to constitute a margin of victory.
Pucks that clang off the posts are not registered as shots, but they do count as scoring chances and the Montreal Canadiens are not a club that can afford to pass up very many of those.
The first ping in Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning came in the early stages of the first period. It was the best scoring chance of the early going, when Habs defenceman P.K. Subban stepped into a pass from Tomas Plekanec and rang a hard shot off the post to goalie Ben Bishop's right.
The second came early in the middle period, when winger Max Pacioretty threw a weak backhander from a broken play that made it through Bishop, hit the foot of the post and trickled gently back under the goalie.
A little later, another point shot, this time by Montreal's Jeff Petry, rang off the junction of post and crossbar.
It took until the Habs' 27th shot of the evening to finally light the red light. It wasn't enough.
Tyler Johnson scored his NHL-leading eighth goal of the playoffs with 1.3 seconds to play, shooting into the open side through Subban's check and shattering Montreal hearts.
The Habs dominated the Lightning for long periods, they delivered a gritty effort, and yet they're facing an 0-3 series deficit for their trouble.
Montreal's first-place season could end as early as Thursday night; Tampa will be strongly motivated to sweep the Habs after suffering the same indignity at Montreal's hands last year.
The dejected faces on the Habs bench after the late Lightning goal spoke eloquently.
After a season in which the Canadiens were frequently dominated on the shot clock and in the scoring-chance department, embracing the opposite approach – racking up the advanced shooting stats – hasn't exactly proven a winning recipe. Subban had said on Tuesday that "we need everybody to show up," and that it would be quickly apparent who had come to play. He certainly did, and so did his teammates.
Bishop has only one regulation loss in 15 career starts against the Habs, and the visitors made a concerted effort to make it two by sending players into his place of work.
But Bishop is also a wily customer, and after the shenanigans in Game 2 involving Montreal's Brandon Prust, he didn't shy from lobbying for penalties with his theatrical reactions to contact.
He's also a pretty good goalie, and one for whom everything seems to be going right. When Dale Weise was presented with a chance by David Desharnais' astute pass, his shot was saved by Bishop's stick, which he had dropped in his crease.
The only shot to get past was a grubby little backhander that a diving Brendan Gallagher stuffed under a sprawling Bishop midway through the third period.
Gallagher didn't mind, it was a timely 23rd birthday present. In the first period, Tampa's Braydon Coburn thoughtfully gave him another gift: a shiny new crosscheck to the face.
At the other end, Carey Price was his usual self, making highlight-worthy saves on Ryan Callahan and Nikita Kucherov.
Moments after Gallagher scored, Price robbed Brian Boyle as he stood by his lonesome in front of the Montreal net.
At the 12-minute mark of the first, Tampa scored against the run of play. After Subban won a board battle with childhood teammate Steven Stamkos, the puck bounced to Andrei Markov, who juggled it.
After the puck squirted loose, the Habs lost their defensive shape – David Desharnais and Alex Galchenyuk got crossed up with Markov – and Stamkos' clever backhand dish sprang Alex Killorn in the slot. The Montreal native fired a quick shot past Price's glove as Subban and Callahan jousted in front of him.
At one point Subban made a sparkling defensive play to disrupt a two-on-one involving Stamkos and Callahan, at the very end of the second frame Markov's sliding block of Valtteri Filppula's shot on a four-on-two break could have been vital.
Instead it just wasn't enough, just like the rest of the Habs effort.