TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay's "Triplets" line was back in peak form, helping the Lightning rally from two goals down in the final 10 minutes, then winning 1:36 into overtime on Tyler Johnson's second goal of the game to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.

"The Triplets were outstanding tonight. I thought they were the best line on the ice," coach Jon Cooper said after Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat both returned from extended injury absences.

"The stat sheet's going to show that, but they did everything we've watched them do the last few years. ... If we don't have them, we don't have two points tonight. They were big all over the ice, and when we needed them the most, they came through."

Johnson's goal beat Carey Price in overtime to steal a victory at the start of a five-game homestand. Johnson, Kucherov and Palat had a hand in all four goals for the Lightning, with Kucherov getting two assists and Palat getting a goal and an assist.

"There are 29 other teams in the league that would like to have those guys," Johnson said. "They were both able to come back and contribute right away. I thought our line played well, got better as the game went on and had a lot of opportunities. I expect to see even more."

Down two goals with 10 minutes left, the Lightning rallied to force overtime against the top team in the Atlantic. Tampa Bay got a power play with 4:41 left and the NHL's No. 3 unit converted the opportunity, with Palat getting his fifth goal of the season with 3:30 left to tie the score.

Tampa Bay had made it 3-2 on defenseman Victor Hedman's seventh goal of the season, beating Price on an assist from Kucherov, the team's top scorer, with 8:46 left. Kucherov had a close-range shot to tie the score, but Carey came up with a big save with 6:25 left.

The Lightning saw a late break turn against them as what looked to be a breakaway for Kucherov was called back and Tampa Bay was called for too many men on the ice, though replays showed their player was off the ice before Kucherov got the puck advancing from the bench. The Lightning killed off the ensuing power play and sent the game to overtime.

The Lightning (18-15-3) rallied for a key home win as they open a five-game homestand, and they'll be back again Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the Carolina Hurricanes in town Saturday.

Montreal (21-9-5) saw a late lead disappear and got only one point on the road after going 2-3-1 in the previous six games before the holiday break, with a back-to-back awaiting Thursday night at the Florida Panthers.

"I felt the momentum a little before (Hedman's goal)," Montreal's Max Pacioretty said after the game. "We don't want to play on our heels, but we did play on our heels, up with the lead in the third.

"They're a dangerous team offensively, and we've got to play more offensive, try to play in their end. That's the easiest way to defend against them. We sat back a little bit too much."

Montreal jumped ahead early as Alexander Radulov scored 3:24 into the game as the Canadiens stole the puck behind the net and beat goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for a 1-0 lead on their second shot. The Lightning answered with Johnson scoring with 9:21 left in the period for his 10th goal of the season, getting assists from Palat and Kucherov.

Montreal took the lead again late in the first, scoring eight seconds into a power play after Hedman was called for holding. Shea Weber scored his ninth goal of the season for a 2-1 lead that carried into the second period.

"We just sat back, and they're a good team and they can make things happen," Weber said. "We can't sit back and give them time and space because that gives good players the ability to make plays."

Tampa Bay outshot the Canadiens 13-8 in the second period, but Price stopped all 13 shots. Montreal extended its lead to 3-1 on a goal by Chris Terry, his second of the season, from the side of the net on a pass from Daniel Carr.

NOTES: The Lightning got a boost with the return of key players including leading scorer and F Nikita Kucherov, who was in the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury. F Ondrej Palat was back after missing five games with an undisclosed injury. F Cedric Paquette missed a third straight game with a lower-body injury. F Valtteri Filppula was a healthy scratch after missing a team meeting earlier Wednesday. ... Montreal had five injured players not travel with the team -- Fs David Desharnais, Alex Galchenyuk and Andrew Shaw; and D Greg Pateryn and Andrei Markov -- and had another injured player not dress in F Sven Andrighetto, who missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury. D Ryan Johnston was a healthy scratch. ... The Lightning called up rookie C Matthew Peca, who made his NHL debut Wednesday night and had a shot and two hits in 13:03 of ice time.