The Montreal Canadiens had the chance to secure their first playoff series win since their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. They had an extremely fired up fanbase behind them inside what became a loud Bell Centre. With a 3-2 series lead, one more win secured their spot in the second round, where they'd face the Buffalo Sabres.
Unfortunately, the Canadiens were unable to capitalize in Game 6. With a scoreless tie taking both teams to overtime, the Lightning picked up the 1-0 victory after a goal from Gage Goncalves. With that, the series goes down to Tampa Bay on Sunday, with a start time of 6:00 p.m. ET.
This will go down as a wasted opportunity for the Canadiens, as it was an evenly matched game with both teams having quality chances. Yet, it still stings Here are some winners and losers of Game 6.
Winners and losers of Game 6 after Canadiens lose in overtime to Lightning
Winner: Phillip Danault
If there was a best highlight of Game 6, it is undoubtedly Phillip Danault's defensive play in the second period. Dobes was facing an onslaught from Tampa Bay's offense, standing on his head and ensuring the game remained scoreless. But during the fracas, the puck snuck between Dobes' pads.
Enter Danault. As the puck slowly and surely approached the goal line, it was completely stopped by Danault's hockey stick. Danault then cleared the puck out of the crease and sent it into Tampa Bay's zone for the icing.
Montreal brought Danault back for a reason, and that's for his play defensively. He did just that in Game 6.
Losers: Canadiens power play
If you want to win playoff hockey games, you need to capitalize on power play opportunities when they are presented to you. The Canadiens were one of the more productive power play units entering Friday night, converting on 5-of-21 opportunities.
In Game 6, the Canadiens had three opportunities on the power play. As evidenced by the final score, the team were unsuccessful in putting the puck past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Prior to their third power play opportunity, which arrived in overtime on a tripping penalty called on Nikita Kucherov. On their first two power plays, the Canadiens only had three shots on goal.
On their final power play, Montreal managed just one shot on goal, with Juraj Slafkovsky's shot missing the net and Nick Suzuki having his shot blocked. Additionally, Suzuki had two giveaways on that power play.
Three opportunities with the skater advantage were wasted by the Canadiens.
Winner: Jakub Dobes
If there is one player you can not blame for this loss, it's Dobes. Entering these playoffs, the goaltending situation was viewed as Montreal's greatest weakness. Dobes may not have played perfectly this series, but he saved his best performance for Game 6.
There were numerous close calls due to the pressure he received from the Lightning offense, but he was able to stop 32 total shots on goal. The 33rd shot on goal turned out to be the one he just couldn't stop, as Goncalves was able to shoot it past his right side to end the game.
Dobes did everything he could to keep the Canadiens in Game 6. He just needed the players to step up and put just one puck past Vasilevskiy. They couldn't. Speaking of.
Losers: Canadiens stars
In a close out game, the Canadiens needed their big stars to step up. That includes Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky. This series they simply haven't.
On Friday night, those stars went point-less. Caufield had four shots on goal, but was unable to get put the puck past Vasilevskiy. Suzuki didn't have a shot on goal, but he did have three giveaways in nearly 25 minutes of playing time. Finally, Slafkovsky had just two shots on goal.
With this latest playoff game in the books, there is a damning statistic. In six games on five-on-five, even strength hockey, Suzuki, Caufield, and Slafkovsky only have one point total. Yes, just one point total in the entire series in even strength, and that belongs to Suzuki.
Look we get it, this is still a young team that is growing with the hope they can become consistent Stanley Cup contenders. But this trio made names for themselves for their strong play this season. Suzuki is the favorite to win the Selke Trophy. Caufield scored 51 goals, becoming the first Canadiens player to score over 50 goals since Stephane Richer in the 1987-88 season. As for Slafkovsky, he showed that he can score goals in big moments, as evidenced by his hat trick in Game 1. But you'd expect more from the young stars this late in the season.
When the Canadiens and Dobes needed them the most, they didn't step up.
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