The Montreal Canadiens are heading to Round 2, and they did it in a way no one will forget. In a dramatic Game 7, Montreal edged the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to close out their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series. The win didn’t just send them through; it also etched their name into the record books in bizarre fashion.
Among those taking it all in was WWE star Sami Zayn, and he made no effort to hide his excitement.
Sami Zayn All Over Canadiens’ Wild Win Over Lightning
This wasn’t a series with easy wins or runaway games. All seven matchups were tight, gritty, and decided by the smallest of margins.
Game 7 followed that same script. Nick Suzuki opened the scoring late in the first period, giving Montreal a 1-0 lead with a fortunate deflection that bounced in off a Lightning player with just over a minute left. Tampa answered in the second, as Dominic James tied it 1-1 on the power play, redirecting a point shot from Charles-Edouard D’Astous.
Midway through the third, Alex Newhook swatted a puck out of midair near the post. It took a strange bounce off Andrei Vasilevskiy and found the back of the net, an awkward, chaotic goal that perfectly summed up the night.
What made the win even more unbelievable was how it happened. The Canadiens managed just nine shots on goal, but still managed to get the upper hand. That sets a Stanley Cup Playoffs mark for the fewest shots in a playoff victory.
They were outshot 29-9, but goaltender Jakub Dobes stood tall, stopping 28 of 29 shots to steal the game. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t dominant. But it worked.
Zayn was in attendance for the game and clearly loved every second of it. “Tightest playoff series I’ve ever watched. A nail-biter from start to finish. Had everything you could ask for in a playoff hockey series. A gigantic victory. Hello, Buffalo. #GoHabsGo.”
He later added another post, reflecting on watching the game among a packed crowd, saying, “I watched the game live in the nosebleeds of the Bell Center (funny enough, 2nd row from the top, where I sat for my first wrestling show ever, Survivor Series ‘97) 21,000, sold out, to watch *an away game* together on a big screen. Atmosphere was nuts. Best hockey city on earth.”
Montreal now turns its attention to Round 2, where it’ll face the Buffalo Sabers. Game 1 is set for Wednesday in Buffalo.
If this series was any indication, the Canadiens aren’t done surprising people just yet.
