The Montreal Canadiens will have to deliver in a win-or-go-home Game 7 on the road following Friday's 1-0 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 at Bell Centre in Montreal.
The loss tied the series at 3-3, forcing a deciding game on Sunday in Tampa with a trip to the second round on the line.
Montreal controlled long stretches of Game 6, creating chances and matching Tampa Bay across all areas of play, but could not solve goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who recorded a shutout and earned the first star of the game after stopping all 30 shots he faced.
Following the loss, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis sent a positive message about his players, making it clear the whole team remains confident in their chances of advancing. St. Louis said it's the Canadiens' "destiny" to play in this Game 7.
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“We’re a confident group; we believe in what we do, how we do it,” St. Louis said. “We played our game tonight. It was probably one of the best games I’ve seen this young group play. We’ve just got to embrace the situation.
“Things are meant to be, and I think it was meant to be for our growth to go play a Game 7. I think it’s going to help us grow for what’s next.”
St. Louis made it clear that he believes the Canadiens played one of their best games of the season and executed as well as possible, even if it ended in a scoreless tie heading into overtime.
“We have to pick ourselves up and do that again. We played an excellent game,” St. Louis said. “We were good. There’s no panic.”
The only goal came in overtime after Montreal killed a late penalty, when Gage Goncalves capitalized on a rebound in front of the net.
Montreal will look to advance past the first round for the first time since the 2021 postseason, when they lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Lightning.
