There really is something special about this young Canadiens team.
If you didn’t already believe that, you have to after they somehow managed to beat the Lightning 2-1 in Tampa Sunday night in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series despite being outshot 29-9 and going the entire second period without a single shot on goal.
It marked the first time in franchise history the Canadiens failed to get a shot during a full period of a playoff game, and they set an NHL record for fewest shots in a postseason victory.
Captain Nick Suzuki gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with 1:21 left in the first period with his first goal of the series, deflecting a point shot by Kaiden Guhle that then hit Lightning defenceman J.J. Moser before going in the net.
It was the Canadiens’ fourth shot on goal and they didn’t get another until Suzuki fired one at goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy 5:36 into the third period with the score tied 1-1 after the Lightning’s Dominic James scored a power-play goal at 13:27 of the second period. In real time, the Canadiens went more than 93 minutes without a shot. In actual game time, it was 26:57.
Alex Newhook scored the winning goal 11:27 into the third period, batting the puck out of midair from behind the net and banking it in off Vasilevskiy.
Now the youngest team to make the NHL playoffs for the second straight year is headed to the second round against the Sabres, with Game 1 Wednesday in Buffalo (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).
Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes was the first, second and third star for the Canadiens in their Game 7 win over the Lightning, making 28 saves. The 24-year-old was also the series MVP, finishing with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. He outplayed the veteran Vasilevskiy — winner of two Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021 — who had a 2.18 GAA and a .897 save percentage.
The Canadiens won this series despite getting only one five-on-five goal from their top three forwards — Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Suzuki’s goal in Game 7 was the only one.
They won the series despite going 2-for-21 on the power play over the last six games, after going 3-for-5 in Game 1 with Slafkovsky scoring three power-play goals in a 4-3 overtime win.
On the flip side, the Canadiens did win three of the four games played in Tampa.
That’s special.
They also limited the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov to one goal in the series after he scored 44 in the regular season.
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) is hit by Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson (17) during the first period in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Sunday, May 3, 2026 in Tampa. Dirk Shadd / Tampa Bay Times
Yes, outstanding goaltending can cover up a lot of problems, but it can’t win a seven-game series by itself. One of Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis’s favourite sayings is: “I won’t give up on a player unless he gives up on himself.”
That has rubbed off on his players, who never give up on themselves and showed that again in Game 7.
It really is something special.
“I think it’s a big moment when you look at that kind of stuff,” Newhook told reporters in Tampa after the game when asked about the Canadiens’ rebuilding process, which started just over four years ago. “Young group, young team, so to be able to rise to the occasion in a big game like this I think just shows what we’re capable of and that we’re a hard team to beat where we’re at right now.”
Newhook added that St. Louis gave a “good speech” during the second intermission about forgetting what happened during the previous 20 minutes of play.
“Just kind of talking about the opportunity that’s in front of us, regardless of what’s happened before that and kind of put that in the past,” Newhook said. “He’s played in a lot of big games himself; he knows the moment’s big. For us, kind of talking about what we worked through all year to have this opportunity, I think we would have taken it at the beginning of the year.”
Suzuki said the team’s ability to regroup in the third period, limiting the Lightning to eight shots while getting five of their own, was huge.
“We didn’t want to end our season playing like that again,” Suzuki told reporters in Tampa. “So we knew we had to come out stronger and Dobes was there to hold down the fort for us when we weren’t playing that great. Definitely don’t win that series without him.”
Dobes has now given up three or fewer goals in 19 of his last 21 games and has a .924 save percentage during that span. Not bad for the 13th goalie selected at the 2020 NHL Draft, going to the Canadiens in the fifth round (136th overall) back when Marc Bergevin was still general manager.
Dobes, who grew up in the Czech Republic idolizing Vasilevskiy, never gave up on himself.
He’s a good poster boy for this team.
“I feel like we are such a good team that no matter what the situation or the circumstances, we’ll find a way to win,” Dobes told Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas during a postgame interview. “We got to go to Buffalo. We cannot get satisfied … we got to keep going. I’m really excited for the second round.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Dobes added about talking with Vasilevskiy during the postgame handshake line. “I still can’t believe it. I don’t want to get emotional, but I was dreaming of this since I was I don’t even know. … I was just the luckier guy and beat him in a best-of-seven. I’m very proud of myself, but I got to stay humble and we got to go to Buffalo and repeat the same thing.”
This special team isn’t done yet.
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