Canadiens stun Lightning in Game 7

Montreal just pulled off the kind of Game 7 win that makes no statistical sense and absolutely counts anyway. The Canadiens beat Tampa Bay 2-1 on Sunday night, closed out the last unfinished first-round series, and moved on to face Buffalo in Round 2. The weird part is the number that jumps off the page — Montreal managed only nine shots all night. But one of them came from Alex Newhook at exactly the right moment, and that was enough. (nhl.com) ### How did Montreal win with only nine shots? Basically, Montreal won by making almost every chance matter and by not letting the game turn into the kind of track meet Tampa usually loves. Kaiden Guhle opened the scoring in the second period, Tampa answered through Jake Guentzel late in that same frame, and then Newhook broke (nhl.com)ructure can beat volume for one night. (nhl.com) ### Was Tampa carrying the play? Yes — at least territorially. Tampa put 24 shots on goal and spent long stretches pressing, which is why Montreal’s goalie ended up as one of the storylines. The Lightning had just forced this Game 7 with a 1-0 overtime win in Game 6 behind Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 30-save shutout, so the script loo(nhl.com) on Sunday. (nhl.com) ### Who swung the game? Newhook got the headline because Game 7 winners always do, but Jakub Dobes was just as central. He stopped 23 of 24 shots and gave Montreal the calm it needed after Tampa pushed the series all the way back from the brink. That matters in a winner-take-all road game — especially against a team with Guentzel, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and all the usual Lightning danger. (nhl.com) ### Why does the nine-shot thing matter so much? Because it tells you this was not a clean, commanding upset. It was more like a heist. Montreal did not overwhelm Tampa. Montreal escaped with ruthless efficiency and just enough goaltending. In playoff hockey, that still goes in the books exactly the same as a 40-shot masterpiece — but it also tells you how thin the margin was. (nhl.com) ### What does this mean for Tampa? Tampa’s season is over after getting to a Game 7 at home and failing to finish the comeback. That stings because the Lightning had all the ingredients of a dangerous survivor — elite goalie, star scorers, recent playoff muscle memory. Instead, they’re out in Round 1, and the final image is a one-goal loss in a game they mostly controlled on the shot clock. (nhl.com) ### What opens up now for Montreal? Round 2 starts fast. Buffalo had already been waiting to see whether it would get Tampa or Montreal, and now the matchup is set — Canadiens versus Sabres, with Game 1 on Wednesday, May 6 at KeyBank Center. That makes this win bigger than a single upset. Montreal didn’t just survive. It com(nhl.com)a breakthrough season into something larger. (nhl.com) ### Why is Buffalo an interesting next test? Because this won’t feel like a giant-versus-underdog story. Montreal and Buffalo split their 2025-26 season series 2-2, and each team scored 13 goals in those four games. That suggests a much tighter matchup than the names on the jerseys might imply. Montreal’s reward for upsetting Tampa is not an easier path — it’s another coin-flip kind of series. (nhl.com) ### Bottom line? The Canadiens didn’t beat Tampa by looking bigger, faster, or more dominant. They beat Tampa by being sharper in the few moments that decided everything. In a Game 7, that’s enough — and now the upset is real because it changed the bracket. (nhl.com)