How The Habs Came Out On Top Vs. Lightning

For most of the series, the Canadiens had the edge, only trailing for a total of just 20:20 throughout the entire 7-game series, and they were never down by more than a single goal. The Habs’ success came mainly from being able to adjust on the fly with each passing game as well as the team exploiting the Lightning’s weaker forward depth. The line of Zack Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Alexandre Texier stood out as the offensive line during the middle of the series, which led to two important victories. Their contribution by outperforming the Lightning’s bottom six was very important, considering the Habs’ top two lines couldn’t really create much offence up until Game 7. Every series is different, but it was clear that the Habs figured out that their bottom six would be the key to success in the series, which helped them a lot down the stretch. When they play the Sabres, it will likely be different, as they have much better depth at forward, so they will need the top line to produce more.

Although the truth is that Lane Hutson is an unstoppable offensive force from the backend, and he was a massive reason for a good chunk of the goals scored by the Habs in the series. In fact, Hutson got a point on all four Habs game-winning goals against the Lightning, including an overtime slapshot from the point that cleanly beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning tried to stop Hutson by targeting him with hits, but he would overcome them and still come out on top. To no surprise, he was once again among the Habs’ top players throughout the series, as his 6 points are tied for the most on the team with Nick Suzuki.

While Suzuki struggled early in the series to produce at even strength, he was able to come up big offensively when it mattered most in Game 7. Suzuki scored his first goal of the playoffs in the series-deciding game, coming up clutch very similar to his big goal during Canada’s quarterfinal matchup against Czechia to tie the game. The Habs captain may not have had the best series on the offensive side of things, but he was very solid on the penalty kill and defensively late in games when they needed to close out a game. However, his faceoff percentage was one of the best parts of his game as he won 56.3% of his faceoffs during the 7-game series. As a result, he showed that there is almost always some part of his game that is contributing in a positive way.

The biggest reason for the Habs’ win was no doubt Jakub Dobes, who played the best hockey of his career over the past three games in particular. From Game 5 through 7, Dobes stopped 98 of 102 shots, supporting a. 961 save percentage and a 1.27 GAA, stepping up when it mattered most. Despite Vasilevskiy also having a great series, Dobes was able to outperform the Vezina Trophy finalist and be the main difference in closing out the series in a game where the Habs were outshot 29-9. There will be some nights where the guys in front of him won’t be on top of their game, even in huge games like on Sunday, but sometimes a goaltender can be good enough to steal a win, which is exactly what Dobes did in Game 7. He will likely need to continue to steal games as the playoffs go on, but Dobes has proven that he has what it takes to win.

The most important thing that the Habs should take from the 7-game series against the Lightning is just the lessons of what it is like to play in such a tight series but also the experience it will add to all the young guys who played against the Lightning. Winning series like that can be the difference in becoming a Stanley Cup-winning team down the line and falling short despite having a strong team. It will be interesting to see just how far the Habs will go in this year’s playoffs, but one thing is for sure: this team has grown tremendously thanks to this series with the Lightning.