Canadiens Edge Lightning in Historic Game 7 Win Sport By lines May 4, 2026 Montreal Canadiens playoffs 2026 began a new chapter Sunday night in Tampa. Alex Newhook lifted the Montreal Canadiens past the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Montreal advances to face the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Second Round. Game 1 is scheduled Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT. The Goal That Defined a Historic Series Newhook’s game-winner arrived at 11:07 of the third period. Lane Hutson fired a shot from the point that Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped with his stick. The puck ricocheted off the end boards into the air. Newhook swiped at the airborne puck from the goal line. The puck struck Vasilevskiy’s back and dropped into the net for the 2-1 lead. Nick Suzuki gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 18:39 of the first period. Suzuki redirected a shot from Kaiden Guhle that deflected off J.J. Moser’s shin into the net. Dominic James tied it 1-1 for Tampa Bay at 13:27 of the second period. James redirected a point shot from Charle Edouard D’Astous on the power play. Jakub Dobes made 28 saves for Montreal in goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped just seven shots for Tampa Bay. Montreal generated only nine shots on goal all night. All seven games in the series finished with a one-goal margin. Four of the seven games went to overtime. The series is only the third in Stanley Cup Playoff history in which every single game was decided by one goal. Tampa Bay Lightning falls in the first round for the fourth consecutive season. The Lightning entered as the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Division. The Montreal Canadiens entered as the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic. The Canadiens now turn to the Buffalo Sabres, who eliminated the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference First Round. Related Sports Coverage Lightning Survive 1-0 in OT to Force Game 7 vs. Canadiens Sabres Down Bruins 4-1, End 19-Year Series Drought Pistons Rout Magic in Game 7 to Cap 3-1 Comeback Source: NHL.com Game 7 Recap, May 4, 2026.
