TAMPA, Fla. — If there was even a hint of dejection from the Montreal Canadiens after they lost their first opportunity to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday, it didn’t come through.
Frustration? Sure.
You lose a game of that magnitude 1-0 in overtime and that’ll annoy you. Having a few more nights of rest at home before a second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres suddenly snatched away by Lightning forward Gage Goncalves must’ve stung the Canadiens more than any of the 38 hits they absorbed in the game.
But speaking with Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson, Jake Evans, Mike Matheson and Martin St. Louis as they were undoubtedly contemplating what could’ve been versus what was, we weren’t left with the impression they’d be losing any sleep over Friday’s outcome.
All we got from them was excitement — and an unwavering conviction they would take advantage of the opportunity Sunday's Game 7 brings (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ at 5:30 p.m. ET).
Those feelings didn’t appear to have dulled whatsoever the next morning.
“We want to move on,” said St. Louis before the team took off on a much longer flight to Tampa than they were anticipating Saturday. “I think we’ve proved that this is where we are now (as a team), and we worked to get to this spot. You play a Tampa in the first round and you know you’re going to need everything, and we’ve delivered that. It’s to keep going. It’s a good spot to be in, and I think the guys have enjoyed the process and are hungry to keep moving forward.”
The Canadiens certainly aren’t starving for yet another lesson.
After years of losing and learning through their rebuild, the six games they’ve played against the Lightning in this series have shown they’re ready to win Game 7 and not just experience it as some sort of rite of passage on their journey towards becoming perennial contenders.
“We’re not here for a (participation) ribbon,” said St. Louis.
He may have said right after Friday’s game, “I think it’s meant to be for our growth to go play a Game 7,” and added, “I think it’s going to help us for what’s next for us,” but he did so with the expectation it will go the way he hopes it will.
Canadiens battle Lightning in Game 7 on Sportsnet
The Montreal Canadiens can book a spot to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Watch Game 7 on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30 p.m. PT.
Broadcast schedule
St. Louis has made it clear he’s confident.
And he feels the Canadiens are confident, too.
“Because of the way we’ve played this year, the way we’ve played in this series,” St. Louis said on Saturday. “I don’t think it’s one thing, but I think the guys are very confident that we can get the job done.”
That was clear to us when Suzuki said Friday, “I think we’ve shown that we’re the better team through this series.”
Regardless of how accurate (or inaccurate) that statement was — with the series tied 3-3, with each of these 106-point teams having scored 14 goals apiece, and with this being just the sixth series in NHL history to have the first six of its games each decided by no more than a goal — what mattered most is that he believed it enough to make it. Especially after a loss that could’ve been digested far worse and triggered at least a smidge of doubt.
Hutson, who played 30:46 of the 69:03 it took to settle Game 6, wasn’t questioning himself or the Canadiens at all when it was over.
The 22-year-old smiled as he said, “We get to do it again against a great team in Game 7.”
“Two of the best teams in the East going at it,” Hutson added, “so it’ll be fun.”
Evans told us he’s had a blast through all six games the Canadiens have played so far.
He also said the Canadiens “played well enough to win” all six.
“I like our chances,” Evans repeated a few times, with his confidence bolstered by how little the Canadiens have trailed since the series started.
They took Game 1 in overtime and took a lead to the third period in Game 2 before losing in overtime. They bounced back hard in Game 3 before Hutson notched the overtime winner. And after turning a 2-0 lead into a 3-2 loss in Game 4, they rebounded with their best effort of the series to win Game 5 by a score of 3-2 at Benchmark International Arena.
The Canadiens still managed to top that effort at the Bell Centre in Game 6, even if they didn’t get the result they were after.
“We played a heck of a game,” Suzuki said. “We’ve played a heck of a series, and if we just continue to do that, we can go on a really long run.”
Those weren’t the words of someone wallowing in despair. They were the words of a captain who believes his team will prevail in the deciding game of this series.
