Goncalves scores in OT, Lightning
beat Canadiens to force Game 7
[May 02, 2026]
MONTREAL (AP) — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at
9:03 of overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal
Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round
series.
Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita
Kucherov's penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.
“It was thrilling. It was epic,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
“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,
yet everybody in the building was on the edge of their seats.”
Game 7 is Sunday night in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a
fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing
their first series victory in five years.
The series winner will face Buffalo. The Sabres wrapped up their
series with Boston in six games Friday night with a 4-1 road victory
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay for his eighth career
playoff shutout.
“I didn’t have much emotions,” Vasilevskiy said. “I mean for the
fans it was probably a roller-coaster, but for me it was pretty
even.”
Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of
the series also went to overtime.
The game was the second 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.
“It was an amazing game of hockey. I think the two teams played
their best game of the series,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis
said. “This is probably one of the best games I’ve seen this young
group play. You’ve just got to embrace the situation.”
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Tampa Bay Lightning's Gage Goncalves, second from left, celebrates
with teammates after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during
overtime of Game 6 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup
playoff series in Montreal, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The
Canadian Press via AP)
Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots
on a late power play. The Lightning got the man advantage after Ivan
Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy, failed to score and was called for
goalie interference.
Late in the second — with the Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous
off for slashing Phillip Danault — Vasilevskiy stopped Demidov twice
from close range.
“I think we found out we’ve got the best goalie in the world. I
think we already knew that, but he was incredible,” Lightning
forward Brandon Hagel said. “That’s just one thing off your mind.
You don’t have to worry about that big guy back there.:
Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden
Guhle was called for slashing Jake Guentzel. On the Lightning’s best
chance, Nikita 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 before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed
Alexandre Texier’s high-sticking penalty.
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