A tightly-contested first round came to an end over the weekend with the most lopsided game of the series. But it didn’t matter that the Habs were the weaker team in that game as they eked out the win and are getting ready to take on the Atlantic-winning Sabres in the second round.
The Week That Was
Apr. 29: Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 – Martin St. Louis opted to make a lineup change for this one and it paid dividends. On his first shift, Brendan Gallagher opened up the scoring, making quite the impact. That lead held until the second period but after the Lightning tied it, Kirby Dach won the ensuing faceoff and 11 seconds later, he scored to restore Montreal’s lead. Again, they couldn’t hold it but very early in the second, Alexandre Texier scored on a goal Andrei Vasilevskiy would certainly want back and the supporting cast earned the Habs another victory.
May 1: Lightning 1, Canadiens 0 (OT) – The most exciting game of the series featured plenty of legitimate scoring chances for both sides but both goalies were perfect through 60 minutes (beyond missing a few shots that hit the post). However, the Habs failed to score on an overtime power play and it came back to bite them as just before the midway mark of the overtime period, Gage Goncalves buried a rebound to keep Tampa Bay alive.
May 3: Canadiens 2, Lightning 1 – Let’s not sugarcoat it. Montreal did not play well, going as far as not even getting a shot in a period for the first time in franchise history (for playoff games). But a Nick Suzuki tipped shot went off J.J. Moser and in, allowing the Canadiens to escape the second period with a tie. Then, in the third, Alex Newhook batted a puck out of midair and banked it off Vasilevskiy and in for the improbable winner. With nine shots, Montreal had the fewest in a win in playoff history but they’re still moving on.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | PIMS | SOG | ATOI |
| 8 | Mike Matheson | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 1 | 27:21 |
| 11 | Brendan Gallagher | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 1 | 6:25 |
| 13 | Cole Caufield | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 6 | 15:48 |
| 14 | Nick Suzuki | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 22:48 |
| 15 | Alex Newhook | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 4 | 15:05 |
| 17 | Josh Anderson | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 0 | 5 | 16:39 |
| 20 | Juraj Slafkovsky | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 6 | 21:08 |
| 21 | Kaiden Guhle | 3 | 0 | 3 | +2 | 6 | 4 | 22:17 |
| 24 | Phillip Danault | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 | 19:02 |
| 45 | Alexandre Carrier | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 23:32 |
| 47 | Jayden Struble | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 1 | 9:27 |
| 48 | Lane Hutson | 3 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 2 | 3 | 25:55 |
| 53 | Noah Dobson | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 | 18:37 |
| 71 | Jake Evans | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 5 | 16:03 |
| 72 | Arber Xhekaj | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 2 | 10:50 |
| 76 | Zachary Bolduc | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 12:39 |
| 77 | Kirby Dach | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 2 | 11:39 |
| 85 | Alexandre Texier | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 6 | 14:00 |
| 93 | Ivan Demidov | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 8 | 15:32 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 75 | Jakub Dobes | 2-1-0 | 1.27 | .961 | 0 |
Playoff Team Leaders:
Goals: Juraj Slafkovsky (3)
Assists: Nick Suzuki (5)
Points: Hutson/Suzuki (6)
+/-: Zachary Bolduc (+5)
PIMS: Guhle/Matheson/Xhekaj (12)
Shots: Juraj Slafkovsky (18)
News And Notes
– This first-round series was only the third seven-game series in NHL playoff history to have all seven games decided by one goal.
– Going back to last year, Lane Hutson put up 10 points in his first 10 playoff games, making him the fastest blueliner in franchise history to do so, passing Chris Chelios.
– Noah Dobson returned to the lineup for Game 7. In a corresponding move, Adam Engstrom was sent down to Laval.
– In terms of NHL playoff games played by the eight remaining starting goalies, Jakub Dobes is the third-most experienced of the group with 10 appearances.
Last Game’s Lines:
Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Gallagher – Newhook – Demidov
Bolduc – Dach – Texier
Evans – Danault – Anderson
Matheson – Carrier
Guhle – Hutson
Struble – Dobson
The Series Ahead
The Habs will get a couple of days off (rare when a series goes seven games) but then will play every other day against Buffalo when the series gets underway on Wednesday.
Game 1: Wed, May 6, 7 PM in Buffalo
Game 2: Fri, May 8, 7 PM in Buffalo
Game 3: Sun, May 10, 7 PM in Montreal
Game 4: Tues, May 12, TBD in Montreal
Game 5: Thurs, May 14, TBD in Buffalo*
Game 6: Sat, May 16, TBD in Montreal*
Game 7: Mon, May 18, TBD in Buffalo*
*-if necessary
The Sabres finished fifth in goals scored during the regular season and potted 20 in six games against Jeremy Swayman and Boston. Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson are pacing the way offensively with seven points while Peyton Krebs, a fourth liner at times this season, averaged a point per game through the first round. Alex Lyon took over as the starter in Game 3 of that series and has held down the spot since then.
Final Thought
One of the big themes from the first round was experience. Montreal didn’t have much of it in the playoffs in recent years and Tampa Bay had plenty. But now, things are a lot more even on that front as many Buffalo players had their first playoff round last round. That’s not to say that the Habs have way more now; most of their guys have two, so it’s more of a wash.
What I think that’s going to mean is that this series is going to be nothing like the first. There are going to be more ebbs and flows and plenty more big momentum swings where teams are on their heels. With how tight the Tampa Bay series was, there weren’t a ton of momentum swings but I expect this might more resemble last year’s Washington series. Not necessarily in the result but the swings are going to be more pronounced.
The good news is that I think this year’s group is better prepared to handle the big momentum shifts. We’ll see if that extra experience they have will be enough to help put them over the top in this series.