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05/02 01:23 CDT Goncalves scores in OT, Lightning beat Canadiens to force Game 7
Goncalves scores in OT, Lightning beat Canadiens to force Game 7
MONTREAL (AP) --- Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:03 of overtime
and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to
force a Game 7 in the first-round series.
Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov's
penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.
"It was thrilling. It was epic," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It was
goaltenders making extraordinary saves, players doing things that were of grace
and skill and magic. And there was intensity. There were hits. It was
everything. And there wasn't a goal scored, yet everybody in the building was
on the edge of their seats."
Game 7 is Sunday night in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth
consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first
series victory in five years.
The series winner will face Buffalo. The Sabres wrapped up their series with
Boston in six games Friday night with a 4-1 road victory
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay for his eighth career playoff
shutout.
"I didn't have much emotions," Vasilevskiy said. "I mean for the fans it was
probably a roller-coaster, but for me it was pretty even."
Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series
also went to overtime.
The game was the second in three days to go to overtime scoreless, with
Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday night to end that series in
six games. Before the season, the last 0-0 playoff game in regulation was in
2021.
"It was an amazing game of hockey. I think the two teams played their best game
of the series," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "This is probably one of
the best games I've seen this young group play. You've just got to embrace the
situation."
Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots on a late power play. The
Lightning got the man advantage after Ivan Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy,
failed to score and was called for goalie interference.
Late in the second --- with the Lightning's Charle-Edouard D'Astous off for
slashing Phillip Danault --- Vasilevskiy stopped Demidov twice from close range.
"I think we found out we've got the best goalie in the world. I think we
already knew that, but he was incredible," Lightning forward Brandon Hagel
said. "That's just one thing off your mind. You don't have to worry about that
big guy back there.:
Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden Guhle was
called for slashing Jake Guentzel. On the Lightning's best chance, Nikita
Kucherov fired a shot off the post.
Montreal had only one shot on goal on a power play to start the second period
with Guentzel off for high-sticking Guhle with 11 seconds left in the first.
Danault kept it scoreless a few minutes later when he swept the puck away
before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed Alexandre Texier's
high-sticking penalty.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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