The Montreal Canadiens find themselves in a win-or-go-home situation on Sunday night after losing 1-0 in overtime in Game 6 on Friday night. The pressure is certainly on the Canadiens as they had a chance to win the series on home ice, but must now go on the road to keep their season alive.
These are the types of games that teams certainly need their stars and top players to step up, but it is also a chance for some unexpected heroes to emerge. When looking ahead to this game, these are four players in particular that fans should be watching closely in Game 7.
Nick Suzuki
Nick Suzuki has had a really quiet series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and that is nothing anyone could have expected after he broke 100 points during the regular season. The Canadiens captain has had five points in the series, but four of them have been on the power play, and two of those points were in Game 1.
After Game 6, Suzuki made a bold claim that the Canadiens were the better team for most of the game against the Lightning. While it is great to hear a captain have such confidence in his team, he is now under pressure to prove his point in Game 7 and lead by example.
It will be a big test for the young player and a win here, especially one that he specifically is productive in, could be a defining moment in his career.
Jakub Dobes
Andrei Vasilevskiy has been great, but Jakub Dobes has been playing almost at the same level as the Lightning's goalie. He has continued to be exceptional in net and stopped 32 of 33 shots in Game 6, carrying a shutout into overtime. According to Natural Stat Trick, Dobes had an expected goals against of 5.43, which just highlights the quality of shots he was facing and how he was still stopping them.
The Canadiens will once again need Dobes to deliver a stellar game if they hope to advance. It will be important, particularly early in the game, to ensure the Lightning doesn't get a lead. If the Canadiens can jump out to an early lead, it could help take the crowd out of it and give them a better chance of winning this game.
Josh Anderson
One of the big surprises of this first round series has been the performance of Josh Anderson, who continues to find a way to make his presence known. Earlier in the season, he was scoring goals with one in each of the first two games of this series, but as of late, it has been his physicality.
Recently, Martin St. Louis moved Anderson up to the top line to play with Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and Anderson continues to be able to impact the game without the puck. He finished the game with nine hits and now has 30 in this series, which is second on the Canadiens behind only Arber Xhekaj.
The Canadiens should keep Anderson on the top line for this game, and if he can continue playing physical but add a goal, he could be the deciding factor in this game for Montreal.
Ivan Demidov
There is a strong argument that could be made that Ivan Demidov has been the Canadiens' best player in this series. He continually is making plays, but just hasn't been able to find the back of the net quite yet.
In Game 6, Demidov led the team in shots on goal with five on eight shots total. Over the course of the series, Demidov has had five or more shots in five of the six games and been one of the best players at creating opportunities.
For a player who is playing as well as Demidov, it feels like it is only a matter of time before he breaks through and Game 7 could be setting up to be that moment.
The Canadiens certainly don't have the experience that the Tampa Bay Lightning do in the playoffs. However, to this point, they have seemingly been able to match them every step of the way, and if these four players can deliver, the Canadiens should be the team moving on to play the Buffalo Sabres.
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