Canadiens prevail in decisive Game 7 with just nine shots on goal
The Canadiens were outshot 29-9 and outplayed for much of the deciding game by the Lightning but came out on top in a 2-1 victory.
Alex Newhook broke a third-period tie with the game-winning goal to give the visiting Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 Game 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. Nick Suzuki also scored for the Canadiens, who were outshot 29-9 and outplayed for much of the deciding game, but now face the Buffalo Sabres, who finished atop the Atlantic Division, in a best-of-seven second-round series that begins Wednesday in Buffalo. The Canadiens set a Stanley Cup playoff record for fewest shots on goal in a win, per Sportsnet.
Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes made 28 saves, standing especially tall while Tampa Bay peppered him with shots in the second period. "I feel we are such a good team, no matter what the situation or circumstances, we'll find a way to win," Dobes said. "Now we've got to go to Buffalo.
We cannot get satisfied, we have to keep going. I'm really excited about the second round. " With overtime on the horizon, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped a point shot, sending the puck bounding to the end boards.
But Newhook batted it out of the air toward the front of the cage, banking it off Vasilevskiy and into the cage for his first goal of this year's playoffs with 8:53 remaining in regulation. Montreal had last won a series in 2021, the year the Canadiens lost to Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final. "It feels amazing," Suzuki said.