- Alex Newhook’s third-period goal lifts the Canadiens past the Lightning 2-1 in Game 7
- Montreal sets an NHL playoff record for fewest shots on goal in a win with just nine
- Read below for how the Habs pulled off the historic upset and what’s next against the Sabres
The Canadiens are moving on, and they pulled it off in the most improbable way possible.
Alex Newhook scored the go-ahead goal at 11:07 of the third period, lifting Montreal past the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Benchmark International Arena on Sunday night.
The puck took a wild route to find the back of the net:
Lane Hutson sent a point shot at Andrei Vasilevskiy, who knocked it aside with his stick. The rebound caromed off the end boards into the air, and Newhook swiped at it from the goal line. The puck deflected off Vasilevskiy’s back and trickled in.
What makes the win wild is the shot total. Montreal generated just nine shots on goal across three periods, an NHL playoff record for fewest shots in a winning effort. The old mark was 10 shots, shared by the 2024 Oilers, 1990 Devils, and 1974 Blackhawks.
The second period was the strangest stretch. Montreal didn’t put a single puck on net, the first time the Habs have gone shotless in a regulation playoff period since the league started tracking shots in 1959-60.
Nick Suzuki gave Montreal the lead late in the first. He tried to redirect a Kaiden Guhle shot at the hashmarks, and the puck deflected off J.J. Moser’s shin past Vasilevskiy.
Lightning forward Dominic James answered on the power play in the second, tipping a Charle-Edouard D’Astous slap shot from the point past Jakub Dobes at 13:27.
Dobes was the difference, stopping 28 of 29 Lightning shots. Vasilevskiy saw nine and made seven saves.
Tampa Bay was bounced in the first round for the fourth straight year. Every game in the series was decided by one goal, and four went to overtime.
Up next is a Round 2 matchup with the Buffalo Sabres, who knocked off the Bruins in six games. Game 1 is Wednesday in Buffalo at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.
