Stanley Cup Playoffs

Imagine having 29 shots on net and holding your opponent to only nine in a decisive Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, only to lose the game and have your season ended. That's exactly what happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday night when Jakub Dobes and the Montreal Canadiens eliminated them, 2-1.

It was do or die tonight as the Lightning hosted the Montreal Canadiens for a winner-take-all game 7. Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Lightning, their season came to an end despite a valiant effort. Tampa Bay was the better team throughout the game tonight, but just couldn't find the back of the net when they needed to.

Tonight, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens will face off in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. As game time approaches, both teams have a clear goal: to advance to the second round. However, there's something more as this heated rivalry comes to a head at Benchmark International Arena: The Tampa Bay Lightning aim to continue their legacy, while the Montreal Canadiens are looking to begin theirs.

Questions abounded in the days leading up to Friday night's crucial Game 6 regarding the effectiveness and performance of Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Is he not living up to the series' expectations? Is he past his prime? Is "The Big Cat" no longer the threat he once was during the Stanley Cup Championship years? After a dominating performance at the Bell Centre on Friday night, it can be confirmed that Vasilevskiy is doing just fine.

Elimination games do not walk quietly into this city. Not inside Bell Centre. Not with all that history hanging from the rafters. Not with a young Montreal Canadiens team feeding off a building that knows exactly what playoff pressure sounds like when it starts shaking the walls.

The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in an all too familiar position headed into Game 6 at the Bell Centre on Friday night: facing early elimination and a trip to the offseason. After a disappointing Game 5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at home on Wednesday night, the Lightning must find a way to put together 60 great minutes of hockey, or spend the next five months wondering 'what could have been.'

Alexandre Texier scored the game-winning goal early in the third period as the Montreal Canadiens upended the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night, 3-2. Brendan Gallagher returned to the Habs lineup for the first time in the playoffs to score early in the game, and Kirby Dach added a goal in the second period. The win puts Montreal in control of the Eastern Conference First Round series with a 3-2 lead, and the teams head back north on Friday for Game 6.

If there is one great takeaway from Sunday night's 3-2 comeback win against the Montreal Canadiens, it's that the Tampa Bay Lightning aren't lacking in heart, determination, and resiliency. Facing a two-goal deficit in a hostile environment, the Bolts found a way to win Game 4 at the Bell Centre and regain the advantage in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Image Credit: Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports The word is out, and Montreal Canadiens' social media is abuzz with its astute revelation that the NHL referees "gifted" game four of this round one best-of-seven series to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Credit to the fan base for seeing it because, clearly, the referees did their best to hide it. The Referee Trickery Midway through the first period of a scoreless game, the referees issued back-to-back penalties against the Lightning,

A fired-up Brandon Hagel looks on in Game 2 of the Tampa Bay Lightning's series against the Montreal Canadiens. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports A playoff series in the National Hockey League is more than just a best-of-seven decision. It's a battle of attrition. It's a fight to the bitter end. More than that, it's cinema. Like every good film, the Lightning vs. Canadiens first-round bout has been full of highs and lows. Heroes and villains. Playing the role

The Tampa Bay Lightning gave the Montreal Canadiens a taste of their own medicine in the fourth game of their playoff series. The Habs, the season's cardiac kids, were nursing a 2-0 lead through nearly 40 minutes of play at Bell Centre Sunday night. That's when Jake Guentzel happened, and Brandon Hagel took it from there, driving the bus to a 3-2 Bolts win that evened the series up at 2-2.

The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in a situation as they enter Sunday night's Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens. Losing two of the three games, including one at home, has the team in a must-win situation tonight at the Bell Centre. With both teams evenly matched, Montreal has found a way to lead and control the series' tempo. But there is one thing that the Canadiens can't control that can help the Lightning claw back into the series: The Lightning must find that d

A handful of careless plays prevented the Lightning from taking charge in Game 3 and would ultimately fall short in overtime to let Montreal take the 2-1 series lead. Brayden Point would finally find the back of the net and Hagel continued to be a threat, but it was not enough to come away with the victory in Montreal. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the only reason why Tampa Bay had a chance, but their lack of awareness is what allowed the Canadiens to take over.

J.J. Moser scored at 12:48 of overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a much-needed win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round over the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night, 3-2. The victory evens the series at 1-1 as the best-of-seven matchup moves to Montreal Friday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in an all-too-familiar situation after Sunday evening's loss to the Montreal Canadiens in overtime: in an early series deficit. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater quite yet. It's only the first game, and there's still a great deal of hockey left to be played.

Round one, game one between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning would take overtime to decide. The Lightning continued their struggles with playoff overtime, losing their 12th of their last 13 overtime contests. Game one goes to Montreal, and they lead this best-of-seven series one game to none.

On the eve of the Round One matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bolts are focused on entering this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs with one major thought in mind: Do not repeat the sins of the past three postseasons.