Montreal Canadiens defeat Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 after setting playoff record for fewest shots on goal in a win
The Montreal Canadiens upset the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 and are headed to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a historically bad offensive performance. Folks, this is why we love the NHL postseason: because the best team always wins.
The Canadiens fired just 9 shots on goal in their 2-1 victory, setting a Stanley Cup playoffs record for the fewest shots in a win.
Screenshot: NHL.com box score
Even worse, the Canadiens fired no shots on goal in the second period entirely, which is the first time in franchise history (since shots were first tracked in 1959-60) they’ve accomplished that lowly feat. Thanks to some brilliant stat-keeping , we also know that the Canadiens had 0 slot shots, 0 turnover chances, 0 odd-man rushes, and, as you might have guessed, 0 goals during that 20 minutes of play.
Canadiens register 0 shots on goal in a period for the first time in franchise postseason history, per @NHLPR
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 3, 2026
According to Josh Dubow, the last time a team had 0 shots on goal in a period during the postseason was the Penguins, who had 0 in Game 1 of 2017 Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators. And as you might have predicted, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup that year — their second in a row.
Okay, last fact. Per Jessica Brand, no prior team this century has won a game, regular season or postseason, with single-digit shots on goal. The Canadiens are literally the first to do it in the 2000s.
Anywho, Alex Newhook ultimately scored the series-winning goal with 8:53 remaining in the third period, batting a puck out of mid-air from no angle off Andrei Vasilevskiy and in.
Vasilevskiy stopped seven of nine shots, good for a .778 save percentage. On the other side of the ice, Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes made 28 saves on 29 shots for the victory.
What a weird game.
Congrats to the Habs, I guess.
Montreal will now play Buffalo in the second round.
Please no one bring up Jaroslav Halak in the comments. I’m still not over it. Yes, I know it’s been 16 years.
