Canadiens Stun Lightning in Game 7 and Set Up Second-Round Clash With Sabres

The Montreal Canadiens are moving on. The Habs eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2-1 win in Game 7 on Sunday, completing one of the more remarkable opening-round upsets of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and setting up a second-round series against the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres that begins Wednesday at KeyBank Center.

How Game 7 unfolded

The decisive game was a low-scoring, defence-first affair, much like the series itself. Montreal carried a slim lead into the third period and held on under a sustained Lightning push, killing critical late-game penalties and getting a vintage performance from goaltender Sam Montembeault. The Habs' team-defence structure, which has been at the heart of their playoff identity, showed up in every zone for sixty tight minutes.

Tampa Bay, the perennial Atlantic Division contender, threw everything at Montreal in the final ten minutes, including six-on-five pressure with the goaltender pulled. The Lightning had chances to force overtime but could not solve a goaltending performance that has improved through the series, and a Canadiens defence that blocked shots, cleared rebounds and protected the front of the net.

For Montreal, the win caps a season that began with modest expectations and has become a coming-of-age story for a young core. Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky and the team's young defence have collectively grown into postseason hockey, and the fan base in Montreal, which has waited years for a meaningful playoff run, has erupted in response.

Why this Habs run matters

The Canadiens have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since their unexpected 2021 run to the Stanley Cup final. The current group, built around the 2022 first-overall draft selection of Juraj Slafkovsky and the maturation of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson, has been viewed as a few seasons away from contention. Beating the Lightning in seven games has compressed that timeline and changed the conversation around the franchise's rebuild.

Goaltending has been a critical part of the story. Sam Montembeault has emerged as a legitimate playoff starter, posting strong save percentages in pressure situations and outplaying his far more decorated counterpart in the series. The depth-scoring contributions from supporting forwards have given the team a balance that was missing earlier in their development cycle.

The series win also validates the long-term plan executed by general manager Kent Hughes and head of hockey operations Jeff Gorton. The decision to hold draft picks, develop prospects through the American Hockey League and resist the temptation to chase short-term acquisitions has paid off in a young roster that is now competitive against the league's most experienced franchises.

What's next: Buffalo

The reward for the Game 7 win is a second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres, who entered the postseason as the top seed in the Atlantic Division and dispatched the Boston Bruins in six games in the opening round. Buffalo has not won a playoff series since 2006-07, and its first-round elimination of Boston was a long-overdue breakthrough for a franchise that has spent more than a decade in rebuild mode.

The series begins Wednesday, May 6, at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Game 2 follows on Friday, May 8, before the series shifts to the Bell Centre for Game 3 on Sunday, May 10, and Game 4 on Tuesday, May 12. Buffalo holds home-ice advantage by virtue of finishing higher in the Atlantic Division standings.

This will be the eighth all-time playoff series between the two franchises, with Montreal holding a 4-3 edge in series wins. Both teams skew younger than typical Eastern Conference contenders, and the matchup will feature a contrast in styles between Buffalo's aggressive, transition-driven attack and Montreal's structured, low-event game.

Key matchups to watch

Goaltending will once again be central. Montembeault will need to continue the level of play he found late in the Lightning series, while Buffalo's tandem will face its sternest test of the postseason. The Sabres' goalies have stabilised over the regular season, but a lengthy series against Montreal's structured forecheck will demand consistency they have not always delivered against playoff competition.

The matchup of Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch against Montreal's defence pairing of Lane Hutson and Mike Matheson will be one of the most-discussed elements of the series. Hutson, the Calder Trophy frontrunner, has been a revelation throughout the regular season and through the Lightning series, although he will face a different kind of challenge in the form of Buffalo's heavier physical game.

Special teams could decide the series. Montreal's penalty kill has been one of the most effective units in the playoffs to date, while Buffalo's power play has been the difference in tight games during the regular season and the first round. The Habs cannot afford the kind of undisciplined penalties that nearly cost them Game 7 in Tampa.

The view from the Bell Centre

The Bell Centre crowd, already loud during the Lightning series, is expected to reach a fever pitch when Buffalo arrives in Montreal for Games 3 and 4. The Canadiens have historically used home-ice advantage in postseason series to dictate pace, and the team's young core has fed off the energy in particular spots throughout the playoffs to date.

Local businesses, broadcasters and tourism officials are bracing for an extended playoff run that will pump significant economic activity into downtown Montreal. The city has not hosted a deep playoff run since the 2021 final, and the rumble around the Bell Centre will sharpen as the series approaches.

Tickets for home games are scarce and resale prices have climbed sharply since the conclusion of the Lightning series. Both the team and the league are expecting strong national television ratings on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports, with Montreal's broad national fan base translating into one of the more anticipated second-round series of the playoffs.

Around the second round

The other Eastern Conference second-round series features the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers, with Carolina taking Game 1 by a 3-0 score on Saturday after the Hurricanes had eliminated the Ottawa Senators in a four-game first-round sweep. The Senators' early exit represented a disappointing end to a season that had brought them back into postseason relevance for the first time in years.

In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche took Game 1 from the Minnesota Wild with a wide-open 9-6 victory on Sunday, while the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks are set to begin their series this week. The Ducks earned the matchup by eliminating Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers in six games, ending Edmonton's run as a perennial Western Conference contender.

The lone Canadian team still alive, Montreal, now carries the country's hopes through the second round and beyond. Edmonton, Ottawa, and the four Canadian teams that missed the playoffs altogether, will be watching closely as the Habs try to extend their unexpected run.

What's at stake

For Montreal, advancing to the Eastern Conference Final would represent a significant milestone in the rebuild and would provide invaluable postseason experience for the team's young core. It would also create complicated decisions ahead of the off-season, with several pending unrestricted free agent decisions and a salary cap environment that is more restrictive than in recent seasons.

For Buffalo, a series win would solidify the new identity of a franchise that has long been a punchline in the league. Reaching the Eastern Conference Final would be the franchise's deepest run since the late 1990s and would validate the long-term plan that has been the focus of multiple front-office regimes.

For the league, a Habs-Sabres series in late May offers a young, exciting matchup with two of the more passionate fan bases in the Eastern Conference. The series begins Wednesday and will run through the middle of May, with the winner advancing to the Eastern Conference Final later in the month.