In an 'epic,' Lightning beat Canadiens 1-0 in overtime to force Game 7 in Tampa
By Rick Mayer
May 1, 2026 at 10:38 PM EDT
Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 of the extra period to end a scoreless tie and keep Tampa Bay alive for a series finale on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena.
Of course, it’s going to Game 7.
Tampa Bay and Montreal saved the inevitable for last in a playoff series with six one-goal games and four overtimes – the latest thriller ending when a Gage Goncalves goal gave the Lightning a 1-0 win on Friday.
The NHL best-of-seven playoff series is tied 3-3, with the deciding game slated for 6 p.m. Sunday at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.
Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:03 of the extra period after taking a feed from the right circle from Dominic James. Goncalves ended the scoreless tie shortly after the Lightning killed Nikita Kucherov's penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.
https://twitter.com/BoltsRadio/status/2050402657538367723
"That game didn't need a goal. All it needed was one goal to end it," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It was thrilling. It was epic. It was goaltenders making extraordinary saves, players doing things that were of grace and skill and magic, and there was intensity, there were hits. It was everything. And there wasn't a goal scored. And yet, everybody in the building was on the edge of their seats. I guess that's how epic games become epic."
The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years. Sunday's survivor will play the Buffalo Sabres, who eliminated the Boston Bruins on Friday.
"I think that was just an incredible hockey game," Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel said. "Chances back and forth. Both goalies played well. That’s just a gritty group. Our team, a lot of emotions but we just stayed even keeled and we just had to get it back to Tampa.”
ALSO READ: Canadiens edge Lightning 3-2 in Game 5, need one win to clinch series
With a sellout crowd of 20,962 shaking the Bell Centre, the Lightning were much improved from Game 5, a dominant 3-2 Montreal victory in Tampa.
“Obviously, I think you can learn a lot from games likes this, especially the young guys on our team," Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel said. "Going into a game like that, it's obviously nerve-wracking. We don't need to beat around the bush there. It's a tough situation to be a part of, but you learn from those situations."
Hagel has been key in all three Lightning wins, and his assist set up Goncalves' winner. He stepped off the bench to replace Oliver Bjorkstrand and set up at the right point with defenseman Emil Lilleberg pinching in. After intercepting a clearing attempt by Montreal's Zachary Bolduc, Hagel sidestepped a charging Kirby Dach, who was picked up by Lilleberg, and found James alone to the right of the net.
“I think at the end of the day, no matter the result, I think we had probably 20 guys who could have looked themselves in the mirror and said they gave everything so credit to everyone out there, but we haven't won anything yet," said Hagel, who leads the NHL with six playoff goals.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay for his eighth career playoff shutout – after giving up the game-winning goal off his glove in Game 5.
“I didn't have much emotion," Vasilevskiy said. "For the fans, it was probably a roller coaster. But for me, it was pretty even. I’m pretty experienced, so I don’t want to show my emotions.”
Late in the second period — with the Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous off for slashing Phillip Danault — Vasilevskiy stopped Ivan Demidov twice from close range.
“I've watched him on numerous occasions,” Cooper said of Vasilevskiy, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender. “The bigger the stakes, the more intense the game, the more that there's (something) at stake, he seems to rise to the occasion.”
Montreal’s Jakub Dobes, who matched Vasilevskiy until the game-winner, finished with 32 saves.
https://twitter.com/PerformancesNHL/status/2050409637980107081
Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots on a late power play. The Lightning got the man advantage after Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy, failed to score and was called for goalie interference.
Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden Guhle was called for slashing Guentzel. On the Lightning’s best chance, Kucherov fired a shot off the post.
Montreal had only one shot on goal on a power play to start the second period with Guentzel off for high-sticking Guhle with 11 seconds left in the first.
Danault kept it scoreless a few minutes later when he swept the puck away in the crease behind Dobes before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed Alexandre Texier’s high-sticking penalty.
"I think we were the better team for pretty much most of that game," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said."We just didn’t score. Andrei Vasilevskiy kinda won them that game. .... We’re ready to go down to Tampa and win Game 7.”
Goncalves became the third player in franchise history with an overtime goal while facing elimination. Brayden Point (2022) and Martin St. Louis (2004), now Montreal’s head coach, are the others.
“This is probably one of the best games I’ve seen this young group play,” St. Louis said of the Canadiens. “You just got to embrace the situation. Things are meant to be. I think it was meant to be for our growth to go play a Game 7.”
The Lightning head to their 11th all-time Game 7 and have won 70% of them – best in NHL history with a minimum of five games.
“I've been in a number of Game 7s. In some, we weren't as good as the other team, and some where I thought we were as good as the other team,” Cooper said. “And this one here, I'm not so sure. … It's so even, from the special teams to the goaltending.”
And that's how you get Game 7s, he said.
“To win this (series), you're going to have to have a special game from your team,” said Cooper, who earlier in the day was named a finalist for the Adams Award, which goes to the NHL's top coach. “I'm assuming that the team that wins is probably going to get one more break than the other one.”
The game was the second in the NHL playoffs in three days to go to overtime scoreless, with Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday night to end that series in six games. Before the season, the last 0-0 playoff game in regulation was in 2021.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
SERIES SCHEDULE (best of seven)
Game 1 – Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (overtime)
Game 2 – Lightning 3, Canadiens 2 (overtime)
Game 3 – Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (overtime)
Game 4 – Lightning 3, Canadiens 2
Game 5 – Canadiens 3, Lightning 2
Game 6 – Lightning 1, Canadiens 0 (overtime), series tied 3-3
Game 7 – at Tampa on Sunday, 6 p.m. (TNT, tru TV, WXPX-The Spot)
Click here to purchase Lightning playoff tickets.
Tampa Bay and Montreal saved the inevitable for last in a playoff series with six one-goal games and four overtimes – the latest thriller ending when a Gage Goncalves goal gave the Lightning a 1-0 win on Friday.
The NHL best-of-seven playoff series is tied 3-3, with the deciding game slated for 6 p.m. Sunday at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.
Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:03 of the extra period after taking a feed from the right circle from Dominic James. Goncalves ended the scoreless tie shortly after the Lightning killed Nikita Kucherov's penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.
https://twitter.com/BoltsRadio/status/2050402657538367723
"That game didn't need a goal. All it needed was one goal to end it," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It was thrilling. It was epic. It was goaltenders making extraordinary saves, players doing things that were of grace and skill and magic, and there was intensity, there were hits. It was everything. And there wasn't a goal scored. And yet, everybody in the building was on the edge of their seats. I guess that's how epic games become epic."
The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years. Sunday's survivor will play the Buffalo Sabres, who eliminated the Boston Bruins on Friday.
"I think that was just an incredible hockey game," Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel said. "Chances back and forth. Both goalies played well. That’s just a gritty group. Our team, a lot of emotions but we just stayed even keeled and we just had to get it back to Tampa.”
ALSO READ: Canadiens edge Lightning 3-2 in Game 5, need one win to clinch series
With a sellout crowd of 20,962 shaking the Bell Centre, the Lightning were much improved from Game 5, a dominant 3-2 Montreal victory in Tampa.
“Obviously, I think you can learn a lot from games likes this, especially the young guys on our team," Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel said. "Going into a game like that, it's obviously nerve-wracking. We don't need to beat around the bush there. It's a tough situation to be a part of, but you learn from those situations."
Hagel has been key in all three Lightning wins, and his assist set up Goncalves' winner. He stepped off the bench to replace Oliver Bjorkstrand and set up at the right point with defenseman Emil Lilleberg pinching in. After intercepting a clearing attempt by Montreal's Zachary Bolduc, Hagel sidestepped a charging Kirby Dach, who was picked up by Lilleberg, and found James alone to the right of the net.
“I think at the end of the day, no matter the result, I think we had probably 20 guys who could have looked themselves in the mirror and said they gave everything so credit to everyone out there, but we haven't won anything yet," said Hagel, who leads the NHL with six playoff goals.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay for his eighth career playoff shutout – after giving up the game-winning goal off his glove in Game 5.
“I didn't have much emotion," Vasilevskiy said. "For the fans, it was probably a roller coaster. But for me, it was pretty even. I’m pretty experienced, so I don’t want to show my emotions.”
Late in the second period — with the Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous off for slashing Phillip Danault — Vasilevskiy stopped Ivan Demidov twice from close range.
“I've watched him on numerous occasions,” Cooper said of Vasilevskiy, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender. “The bigger the stakes, the more intense the game, the more that there's (something) at stake, he seems to rise to the occasion.”
Montreal’s Jakub Dobes, who matched Vasilevskiy until the game-winner, finished with 32 saves.
https://twitter.com/PerformancesNHL/status/2050409637980107081
Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots on a late power play. The Lightning got the man advantage after Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy, failed to score and was called for goalie interference.
Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden Guhle was called for slashing Guentzel. On the Lightning’s best chance, Kucherov fired a shot off the post.
Montreal had only one shot on goal on a power play to start the second period with Guentzel off for high-sticking Guhle with 11 seconds left in the first.
Danault kept it scoreless a few minutes later when he swept the puck away in the crease behind Dobes before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed Alexandre Texier’s high-sticking penalty.
"I think we were the better team for pretty much most of that game," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said."We just didn’t score. Andrei Vasilevskiy kinda won them that game. .... We’re ready to go down to Tampa and win Game 7.”
Goncalves became the third player in franchise history with an overtime goal while facing elimination. Brayden Point (2022) and Martin St. Louis (2004), now Montreal’s head coach, are the others.
“This is probably one of the best games I’ve seen this young group play,” St. Louis said of the Canadiens. “You just got to embrace the situation. Things are meant to be. I think it was meant to be for our growth to go play a Game 7.”
The Lightning head to their 11th all-time Game 7 and have won 70% of them – best in NHL history with a minimum of five games.
“I've been in a number of Game 7s. In some, we weren't as good as the other team, and some where I thought we were as good as the other team,” Cooper said. “And this one here, I'm not so sure. … It's so even, from the special teams to the goaltending.”
And that's how you get Game 7s, he said.
“To win this (series), you're going to have to have a special game from your team,” said Cooper, who earlier in the day was named a finalist for the Adams Award, which goes to the NHL's top coach. “I'm assuming that the team that wins is probably going to get one more break than the other one.”
The game was the second in the NHL playoffs in three days to go to overtime scoreless, with Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday night to end that series in six games. Before the season, the last 0-0 playoff game in regulation was in 2021.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
SERIES SCHEDULE (best of seven)
Game 1 – Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (overtime)
Game 2 – Lightning 3, Canadiens 2 (overtime)
Game 3 – Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (overtime)
Game 4 – Lightning 3, Canadiens 2
Game 5 – Canadiens 3, Lightning 2
Game 6 – Lightning 1, Canadiens 0 (overtime), series tied 3-3
Game 7 – at Tampa on Sunday, 6 p.m. (TNT, tru TV, WXPX-The Spot)
Click here to purchase Lightning playoff tickets.