Canadiens Beat Lightning 2-1 in Game 7, Advance to Round 2

Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis rallied his players with a movie quote after a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 on Sunday night propelled the team into the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2021.

The win, in Tampa, capped a tightly contested series where all seven games were decided by one goal, including four that required overtime. The Canadiens, generating just nine shots on goal, became the first team to win a playoff game with fewer than 10 since the statistic began being tracked in the 1959-60 season. Nick Suzuki and Alex Newhook scored for Montreal, capitalizing on fortunate bounces, while rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes made 28 saves to outduel veteran Andrei Vasilevskiy over the series.

In the locker room, St. Louis pounded his chest and declared, "We're not leaving," echoing Leonardo DiCaprio's line from The Wolf of Wall Street. Dobes celebrated with a shaving cream pie to the face from his fellow goalies. Reflecting on his speech, St. Louis said, "I feel like you cant take the player out of me, right? I dont try to be in the locker room a lot. To me, this is their space. Its their team. Its not my team. I try and steer...