Three moments that mattered as Lightning lose to Canadiens in Game 7

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on May 3, 2026

Published in Hockey

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TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning did more than enough to win their do-or-die Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens Sunday night at Benchmark International Arena.

Tampa Bay held Montreal to nine shots on goal, including just four through two periods. It didn’t allow any in a second period that included 3 minutes, 50 seconds spent on the penalty kill.

In a heartbreaking 2-1 loss, the Lightning outplayed the Canadiens in every way except puck luck.

The series was a classic. All seven games were decided by a goal, and four went to overtime, with the stingiest of netminders at both ends.

It’s a shame that one team has to punch its tickets to Cancun instead of a second-round date with Buffalo. It feels like an unfitting end for a Lightning squad that had 106 points during the regular season.

And while that’s no consolation for a team that will have to simmer all summer replaying its fourth straight first-round playoff exit, it could legitimately say it deserved more.

Here are three moments that mattered from Game 7:

A seeing-eye puck

Andrei Vasilevskiy didn’t get much work, and the shot that decided the series was one the Lightning goaltender likely never really saw. With the game tied 1-1 heading into the final nine minutes, Vasilevskiy fought off Lane Hutson’s wrister from the top of the left circle with his blocker, sending the puck high in the air and hard off the end boards. But Alex Newhook skated around the back of the net and found the puck in front of him at the left post. He batted the bouncing puck toward the net, off Vasilevskiy’s back and in with 8:53 left. It was just Montreal’s eighth shot on goal in the game.

A reward for the DOGs

The Lightning’s fourth line of Gage Goncalves, Dominic James and Oliver Bjorkstrand was carrying the team’s 5-on-5 play for most of the first two periods. When the team got its second power play of the second period, down a goal with 7:27 left in the period, the second power-play unit — which included all three forwards — took the ice. And it controlled the puck on the man advantage. James then tied the game with 6:33 left, redirecting Charle-Edouard D’Astous’ puck toward the net from the center point. Goncalves received the secondary assist, skating in from the top of the left circle to create space for D’Astous.

Another early hole

The Lightning outplayed the Canadiens for much of the first period but couldn’t score the opening goal. They had nine of the game’s first 12 shots but fell behind with 1:21 left in the period on the most unfortunate of bounces. Nikita Kucherov lost coverage on Montreal defenseman Kaiden Guhle, allowing him to send a slap shot toward the net. Nick Suzuki’s redirection from the left hash was going well wide of the net, but the puck hit off Tampa Bay defenseman J.J. Moser’s left skate, then his right skate and went into the net.

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