Montreal Canadiens Edge Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 7, Advance to Second Round

TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Newhook broke a 1-1 tie with 8:53 left in the third period, skating backhanded the puck out of the air and in off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pad and backside after Lane Hutson’s slap shot went wide and bounced back out.

The game took place in Tampa, Florida, where the Lightning played in front of their 461st consecutive sellout crowd at Benchmark International Arena, with hundreds of fans also watching from Thunder Alley outside. Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes made 28 saves for Montreal, anchoring a defense that finished with just nine shots on goal.

Moser and went in. Suzuki, who scored 29 goals in the regular season, notched his first goal of the series on that lucky bounce. Dominic James tied the score at 1-1 in the second period, tipping in Charle-Edouard D’Astous’ one-timer from just inside the blue line during a power play.

Despite two power-play chances in the second, the Canadiens had no shots on net in that period, becoming the first team to have zero shots in a playoff period since Pittsburgh in Game 1 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals against Nashville. Tampa Bay’s tough defense held Montreal without a shot for nearly 27 minutes from the first period into the third, limiting them to just four shots through two periods.

Each of the seven games in the series was decided by one goal, with four going to overtime.

The score was tied or within one goal for all but six minutes across the seven games, underscoring the series' intensity. The Lightning lost three home games in this series and fell for the 11th time in their last 13 playoff games at home. In the final minute, Brandon Hagel made a sliding stick save with an open net, but Tampa Bay couldn’t tie the game despite playing with 6-on-5 and 6-on-4 manpower for the final six seconds.

The Lightning were eliminated in the first round for the fourth straight season, two wins short of a Stanley Cup three-peat in 2022. Montreal’s victory marks their first playoff series win since losing the 2021 Stanley Cup Final to Tampa Bay.

Montreal’s Martin St. Louis, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose No. 26 is retired by the Lightning, became the fifth player to appear in a Game 7 for a team and coach against them in another.