The NHL season is not even a week old but we already have a save of the year candidate.

It happened early in the second period of a game between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.

With the Lightning leading 2-1, Habs forward Jiri Sekac, in search of his first career NHL goal, found himself all by himself in front of Lightning goalie Ben Bishop.

All he had to do was bang home the puck into a wide open net. But as Sekac was ready to pull the trigger, Tampa Bay defenceman Anton Stralman came sliding across the crease to kick the puck out of harm's way with his left leg.