It wasn’t a textbook victory, but they’ll take it.

The Montreal Canadiens were outshot 29-9 and failed to record a shot in the second period, but they still emerged victorious with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena.

Montreal won the first-round, best-of-seven series 4-3. Here’s the moment the clock ran out in Tampa and fans could finally exhale.

And here’s the handshake line, including coaches Jon Cooper and Martin St. Louis chatting at the end.

St. Louis and the team pounded their chests in excitement in the dressing room afterwards. “It still keeps going,” St. Louis said.

All seven games were decided by a single goal. Alex Newhook scored the series clincher at 11:07 of the third period. In a series decided by inches, it seemed fitting the winner would come off a bank shot from the side of the net that bounced off goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and in.

It was a stunning result after the Habs were thoroughly outplayed by the Bolts for much of the game. The second period was the first time the Habs failed to record a shot in a period in the postseason in franchise history.

Not only that, no team in history has ever won a playoff game with so few shots. The Habs actually went 93:29 of actual time in between shots on goal during their second-period drought.

The Canadiens managed four shots in the first period, but one of them was the game’s opening goal from Nick Suzuki. It was the captain’s first goal of the postseason.

Penalties were less of a story in this game compared to others in the series, with only two power plays for Montreal and three for Tampa Bay. But the struggling Lightning power play was able to score the game-tying goal at 13:27 of the second when Dominic James tipped the puck past Dobes. It was 1-1 after two periods, but it felt like the Habs were on life support.

Then came the unlikely Newhook goal in the third period. Not only was Newhook pumped, Kaiden Guhle leapt in the air and the crowd at the Bell Centre watch party came to life after a tense sequence.

That was enough offence, and Dobes did the rest to secure the upset victory over the seasoned Bolts. Tampa Bay has now been eliminated in the first round in four consecutive seasons.

If the game felt strangely familiar, there’s a reason for that: The last time a team won a Game 7 after being outshot by 20 or more shots was 2010 when Jaroslav Halak backstopped the Canadiens to a win over the Washington Capitals.

That year, the Cinderella Habs made it to the third round before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers. This time around, these young Canadiens face a difficult challenge in the second round against the Buffalo Sabres if they want to see the conference final. But the expectations are higher now compared to a 2010 Habs team that came out of nowhere.

Round 2 starts on Wednesday in Buffalo.

Before we get to the best comments from the Liveblog, which was a roller-coaster of emotions all night, the Hockey Stat Cards Game Score saluted the unsung Guhle for a two-assist performance, as well as a return to form for Suzuki. Noah Dobson returned after missing the first six games of the series with an upper-body injury, and he played 18:37. Arber Xhekaj sat and Jayden Struble only played six shifts.

Without further ado, here’s what the commenters had to say on the Hockey Inside Out YouTube livestream.

What episode of Seinfeld does Marty watch tonight?

Al Wilson Was The Man

I’m not entertained — I’m gobsmacked.

N Rabinov

Great teams find ways to win even when they don’t have their best game. Way to be boys.

Bob Taylor

Definitely the most incredible win I’ve seen in a Stanley Cup playoff game.

Kelly Morgan

When you win a tight series like this you play free in the 2nd round!

Mark Reaume

From the Ghosts of the Forum to the rise of a new era what more can be said about this win? Oh wait OLE OLE OLE

Rick Woods