TAMPA, Fla. — In a thrilling conclusion to one of the most intense playoff series in NHL history, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Sunday night at Amalie Arena, advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Alex Newhook's dramatic goal midway through the third period sealed the victory in Game 7, erasing a season of struggles for the speedy center and propelling the young Canadiens squad forward.
The series, which pitted two evenly matched teams both finishing with 106 points in the regular season, lived up to its billing as a classic. Every one of the seven games was decided by a single goal, with four going into overtime. The Canadiens, who were slight underdogs entering the matchup, won three of their victories on the road, showcasing their resilience against the defending Eastern Conference powerhouses.
Newhook, who had been limited to 42 games this season due to a fractured ankle suffered on Nov. 13 against Dallas, entered the playoffs with modest production: 13 goals and 12 assists. His offensive output in the series against Tampa Bay was sparse, limited to just one assist through the first six games. But in the decisive seventh game, slightly more than 11 minutes into the third period, Newhook batted the puck out of mid-air from a seemingly impossible angle, deflecting it off Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to give Montreal the lead they would not relinquish.
"It’s a big moment," Newhook said after the game. "Young group. Young team. To rise to the occasion in a big game like this shows what we’re capable of doing. We’re a hard team to beat." He added, reflecting on the significance of the goal, "It’s kind of what you dream of when you’re younger. Big moments in Game 7."
The goal marked a redemption arc for Newhook, who had often professed his ability to be a top-six forward for the Canadiens but had been plagued by injuries and inconsistency. Despite his Stanley Cup win with Colorado in 2022, this tally is being hailed as potentially the biggest of his career, coming in a do-or-die scenario against a Lightning team that had dominated the league in recent years.
Montreal's goaltending proved equally pivotal. Rookie netminder Jakub Dobes, making his playoff debut in the series, delivered a standout performance, stopping 28 of 29 shots for a .966 save percentage. He held Tampa Bay scoreless for the final 26:33 of the game, including 11 saves in the second period alone. Dobes becomes the fifth rookie goalie in Canadiens history to win a seventh game, joining legends like Carey Price, Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, and Jacques Plante.
"Many times in the season the guys bailed me out and helped me out," Dobes said. "I tried to do the same. Sometimes they don’t play good. Sometimes I don’t play good. They always have my back. I always have theirs. That’s our mentality. This wasn’t anything special. I was just trying to keep the guys in it. I was waiting for them to get going. That’s exactly what happened. I’m excited for the second round."
Captain Nick Suzuki opened the scoring for Montreal, notching his first goal of the series and providing the early momentum. However, the Canadiens' offense was unusually quiet otherwise, managing just nine shots on goal for the entire game — an NHL playoff record for the fewest shots in a winning effort. Despite going over 26 minutes without testing Vasilevskiy after Suzuki's tally, including zero shots in the second period, Montreal's defense and Dobes' heroics kept them in control.
Suzuki, who had been held without a shot in the previous two games, contributed three of Montreal's nine shots on the night. Cole Caufield added one shot but was uncharacteristically physical with five hits. Other shots came from Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Carrier, and Alexandre Texier. The Canadiens dominated physically, outhitting the Lightning 43-30, with Jake Evans, Kirby Dach, Noah Dobson — returning from injury — and Jayden Struble each recording four hits. Struble played limited minutes at 5:06, while Brendan Gallagher saw 6:48 of ice time. Veteran Mike Matheson logged a team-high 25:22.
Montreal also won 53.3 percent of their faceoffs, a key edge in a tightly contested affair. Yet, the power play remained a sore spot; after going 3-for-5 in Game 1, the Canadiens converted just 2 of their next 22 opportunities over the series.
For Tampa Bay, the loss marks their fourth consecutive first-round exit, a stark contrast to their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021 — the latter coming against Montreal in the COVID-19 shortened season — and their appearance in the 2022 final. Vasilevskiy, who had posted a shutout in Tampa's 1-0 win in Game 6 on Friday at the Bell Centre, struggled in the finale, allowing goals on the fourth and eighth shots he faced for a .778 save percentage. Newhook's winner deflected off him from an acute angle.
Officiating drew some scrutiny, particularly in the second period when Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson took a stick to the face from Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli without a penalty being called. Referees Wes McCauley and Chris Rooney were otherwise praised for letting the players decide the outcome in a game that could have easily gone to overtime like so many before it.
Close calls abounded for Montreal's young forwards. Slafkovsky, who opened the series with a three-goal game but hadn't scored since, hit the post in the first period and the crossbar in the second. Late in regulation, with Vasilevskiy pulled for an extra attacker, Slafkovsky had a golden opportunity against forward Brandon Hagel but couldn't convert.
Head coach Martin St. Louis, speaking in Tampa after the victory, expressed joy for his team and supporters. "I’m happy for our players and our fans who have supported us," he said. "It’s a great day for the Canadiens."
Suzuki echoed the sentiment, highlighting the team's journey through a rebuild. "It feels amazing," he said. "We had a lot of dark days … going into the rebuild. This moment definitely makes up for a lot of it. We just want to keep this journey going. We have a super special group. It’s a pleasure to play with these guys. We were super confident coming into the playoffs and felt we could go on a deep run even though we don’t have a ton of experience."
This victory positions the Canadiens as the last Canadian team standing after Ottawa and Edmonton fell in the first round. No Canadian club has won the Stanley Cup since Montreal's 1993 triumph. The NHL's youngest team now faces the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, a best-of-seven series beginning Wednesday on the road. The teams split their four regular-season meetings, each winning once away from home, with both victories coming by 4-2 scores. They also shared a 5-3 loss for Buffalo and another 4-2 defeat for Montreal, combining for 13 goals total. Their last encounter was on Jan. 31 after a flurry of three meetings in 17 days.
Statistically, this was the 202nd Game 7 in NHL playoff history. Entering the game, teams scoring first had won 75.1 percent of such contests, with home teams prevailing 58.7 percent of the time. Tampa Bay struck first through their lone goal, but Montreal's poise prevailed. Superstitions fell by the wayside too, as Vasilevskiy donned his road mask for a home game following his shutout in Montreal.
As the Canadiens shift focus to Buffalo, where they are not favored, the momentum from this epic series could carry them far. Playing with house money, as one observer noted, this young squad has already exceeded expectations and shown they can hang with the league's elite.