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Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) skates off as the Montr\u00e9al Canadiens celebrate their win in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.<\/p>\n
Chris O’Meara\/AP<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al Canadiens center Phillip Danault (24) leads the team through the handshake line after the Canadiens defeated the Lightning in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.<\/p>\n
Chris O’Meara\/AP<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes talks to Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper after the Canadiens defeated the Lightning in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.<\/p>\n
Chris O’Meara\/AP<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, right, congratulates Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper after the Canadiens defeated the Lightning in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.<\/p>\n
Chris O’Meara\/AP<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) congraulates Montr\u00e9al Canadiens center Phillip Danault (24) after the Canadiens defeated the Lightning in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.<\/p>\n
Chris O’Meara\/AP<\/p>\n
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 The Tampa Bay Lightning dominated most of Game 7, had triple the scoring opportunities and still found a way to lose.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s an early exit for the fourth straight season.<\/p>\n
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A pair of fluky goals helped the Montreal Canadiens beat the Lightning 2-1 on Sunday night, sending Tampa Bay to a familiar first-round exit.<\/p>\n
The Lightning played their best game of the series, held the Canadiens to just nine shots and yet are heading on vacation while the Canadiens advance to face the Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n
Montreal\u2019s first goal bounced off Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser and went in. The second was whacked out of the air behind the net, hit goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy\u2019s pad and his backside and went in..<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hockey gods have been in my corner many, many times. Tonight they were in the other corner,\u201d Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.<\/p>\n
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For a talented team whose standard is hoisting Stanley Cups, nobody has any answers. Since falling two wins short of a three-peat in 2022, Tampa Bay can\u2019t win a series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have words,\u201d Ryan McDonagh said. \u201cYou like a lot about the game. From start to finish, we stuck with our process and our plan. But at the end it doesn\u2019t matter because they had two, we had one. It\u2019s a loss. Credit to them. They grinded and found a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lightning just couldn\u2019t get much past rookie goalie Jakub Dobes throughout the series. He made 28 saves in Game 7. Tampa Bay didn\u2019t get enough production from its offensive stars. Nikita Kucherov, who had 130 points in the regular season, still has zero in his career in Game 7s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some disbelief in our room that we can play like that and not walk away with anything,\u201d Cooper said about the defensive effort. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t have played any better and still it wasn\u2019t good enough. You have to tip your cap to (Canadiens coach) Martin St. Louis, Jakub Dobes and the Montreal Canadiens.\u201d<\/p>\n
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After tallying 106 points in the regular season and finishing second in the division, the Lightning missed an opportunity to make a run at the Cup.<\/p>\n
And, the team could be running out of time together.<\/p>\n
Kucherov and Jake Guentzel, the team\u2019s two leading scorers in the regular season, and Vasilevskiy are in their early 30s. McDonagh is 36. Captain Victor Hedman, who hasn\u2019t played since March, is 35.<\/p>\n
Darren Raddysh, who is coming off a breakout 70-point season, will be a free agent.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt sucks. You don\u2019t get any younger that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Brandon Hagel said. \u201cI have one goal on my mind every single year and I just want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lightning have to wait until next year to do that.<\/p>\n
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