Lightning Shut Out Habs in Nail-Biter, Set Up Winner-Takes-All Game 7

Tampa Bay survives 63 shots to force game 7 vs Montreal

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jakub Dobes combined for 45 saves in a scoreless duel before Goncalves ended it in overtime.

Gage Goncalves scored his first career OT goal on the 63rd shot to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 win and force Game 7 vs Montreal...

The Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in overtime on Friday night, setting up a winner-takes-all Game 7.  

Gage Goncalves ended it with his first career overtime winner, also snapping a 16-game goal drought that stretched back to the regular season and keeping Tampa Bay’s season alive.  

The goal came on the 63rd shot of the night, out of 53 combined scoring chances for both teams.  

Game 7 between Montreal and Tampa Bay is set for May 3rd.

Game 6 Recap: OT Winner Sends Series to Game 7

After the opening faceoff, play ran for seven straight minutes without a whistle, keeping the pace fast from the jump.  

Game 6’s first period was only the third in the series without a goal. Montreal got a power play carrying over into the second after Jake Guentzel’s high-sticking call with 10 seconds left.  

Tampa nearly broke the deadlock after killing that penalty, but Phillip Danault cleared the puck off the line just before it crossed for Montreal.

Right place at the right time for Phillip Danault as he takes away a sure goal! 😮

The fans in Montreal LOVE it! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn 2
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/NHUCCFhP4s

— NHL (@NHL) May 2, 2026

The second period ended goalless too, marking the fourth scoreless frame of the night and the first time in the series both teams went through two periods without a goal.  

The shutout stretch came down to elite goaltending. Jakub Dobes stopped 16 shots for Montreal through two periods, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 17 for Tampa, including a sprawling double save to rob Ivan Demidov on what looked like a sure goal.

Neither team scored during a Tampa Bay power play or the 4-on-4 that followed. With 5 minutes left in regulation, both sides had exactly 25 shots on goal.  

Tampa got another prime chance when Ivan Demidov took a 2-minute goalie interference penalty for crashing into Vasilevskiy while trying to deke to the net.  

Demidov drives the net and ends up taking a goalie interference penalty 😳 pic.twitter.com/jsULWLXJzw

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 2, 2026

The Lightning kept the puck in the offensive zone for nearly the entire power play and fired shot after shot, but couldn’t beat Dobes. That sent the game to overtime.  

📊 pic.twitter.com/YKnq0h3OQY

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 2, 2026

Dobes was clutch for Montreal, heading into OT with a game-high 28 saves. It wasn’t enough though, as Tampa forced a Game 7 with the win.