Confident Canadiens feel ready to beat Lightning in Game 7

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.

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.

Noah Dobson ‘a game-time decision’

The defenceman, who’s been out of the lineup since suffering an injury to his left hand on Apr. 11, will take warmup Sunday and possibly make his playoff debut with the Canadiens in Game 7.

“I think Dobber’s a gametime decision tonight, and we’ll assess after warmup,” said St. Louis. “He’s been a big player for us this year. I’m confident that if he plays, he’s going to bring something.”

One of the things Dobson would bring to a lineup that would otherwise have 11 players appearing in their first-ever Game 7 at this level if he weren’t playing is experience. The 26-year-old has appeared in 31 NHL playoff games, including one Game 7 against the Lightning (2021 Eastern Conference Final).

Dobson also brings a right-hand shot to the blue line, which is something only Alex Carrier has been able to offer the Canadiens back there through six games of this series.

Carrier has done an exceptional job in Dobson’s absence. And Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble have both played some of the best hockey we’ve seen from them over their young careers.

But if Dobson’s available, he’ll lighten the load for Carrier and likely take it completely away from one of Xhekaj or Struble.

After six seasons with the New York Islanders, he was traded to the Canadiens last summer and immediately signed to an eight-year, $76-million contract. His impact on their sixth-place finish in the overall standings was enormous.

Dobson 22:29 per game, spending most of his ice-time against the opposition’s best players. He scored 12 goals and notched 47 points despite averaging less than half the power play time he was accustomed to in New York, and he proved stalwart defensively—especially on the penalty kill, where he averaged nearly three times more ice-time than he had received in any season with the Islanders.

“Dobber’s a guy that does so much for our group, I think, on both sides of the ice,” said Brendan Gallagher. “At some point here, we’re going to get him back, and when he comes back, he’s gonna be able to do the job.”

If that point is Sunday night, don’t expect it to be at Gallagher’s expense.

Even if St. Louis expressed comfort playing seven defencemen and 11 forwards, saying, “We know we can do that,” and even if he only played Gallagher 5:39 in Game 6 after playing him for less than seven minutes in Game 5 and scratching him for the first four games, it would be shocking to see St. Louis go with that type of lineup composition.

And Gallagher is expecting to play.

“It’d be a tough one to watch,” Gallagher said. “This is a situation where I feel like I belong. It’s a game I really want to be a part of and can contribute.”

The 33-year-old has appeared in 78 NHL playoff games and played two Game 7s.

Gallagher scored a goal in his last one (2021 against Toronto) and had two assists in his first one (2014). He won both.

Now the longest-standing member of the Canadiens is just looking forward to his next Game 7.

“I’ve been talking about this: There’s no day that goes by that I’m not appreciative of the situation that I’m in. This is another opportunity to make a really positive memory. This is a special group and we obviously know what’s on the line here tonight, but I think this is a situation where we’re all excited and we really have a lot of trust and belief in each other, and I think going into tonight, and I think we’re all feeling the same thing—confident in the job if we’re able show up and play like we can.”