The Montreal Canadiens are on to the next round after getting past the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exciting seven-game series. It was a series that went back and forth with neither team really giving up much.
However, in the end the Canadiens secured the 2-1 win in Game 7 and have more hockey to play with the Buffalo Sabres up next. Before looking ahead to the next series, these are three players worth highlighting who had incredible performances in the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jakub Dobes
There may not be a player who was more consistent across all seven games than Jakub Dobes. When the Canadiens' offense would be struggling at times in this series, Dobes was excellent in keeping the game within reach until the moment that the offense would break through.
Dobes finished the series with a save percentage of .923 and a goals against average of only 2.03 with a goals saved above average of 3.23, according to Natural Stat Trick. That is currently the fifth-best average among goalies in the playoffs.
What was even more impressive was that Dobes seemed to improve as the series progressed and the pressure increased. Over the final three games, Dobes allowed a total of only four goals, and in the game the Canadiens lost, he had a shutout through three periods.
Goaltending was one of the big questions for the Montreal Canadiens, but Dobes answered that emphatically with his performance in this series against the Lightning.
Lane Hutson
While Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield struggled at times in this series, Lane Hutson was one of the stars who delivered in this series. The young defenseman seemingly had even more pressure on him with Noah Dobson out for most of the series before returning in Game 7.
Hutson rose to the occasion with an impressive average time on ice of 27:23, which is over a minute and a half more than the next player on the Canadiens. He did a great job in the defensive zone, limiting chances, and also excelled in the offensive zone, finishing tied for the team lead in points with six.
Hutson would be one of only three players who had multiple 5v5 goals in this series, joining Josh Anderson and Kirby Dach, with two goals apiece.
The return of Noah Dobson certainly helps take some of the pressure off Hutson but he absolutely is a player who can be a difference maker in the upcoming series against the Buffalo Sabres.
Josh Anderson
One of the big surprises in this series was the play of Josh Anderson, who led with his goal-scoring early in the series and finished with his physicality. Anderson would score a goal in each of the first two games of this series and helped the Canadiens split the first two games in Tampa.
As the series went along, Anderson wasn't scoring as much but had a bigger role as Martin St. Louis moved him to the top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. He was expected to bring that physicality and he certainly did as he led the team with 33 hits, including nine in Game 6.
It remains to be seen if the Canadiens stick with these lines against the Sabres but Anderson certainly did a great job in Round 1.
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