Suzuki, Newhook, Guhle & Dobes Get the Canadiens to Round 2
Well, the Montreal Canadiens’ Game 7 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning was one of those games you don’t forget in a hurry. Montreal didn’t exactly light the world on fire offensively, but they did just enough. And that’s all they needed. A 2–1 win over Tampa was built on grit, blocked shots, strange bounces, and a goaltender who looked far steadier than you usually expect in that kind of moment. Jakub Dobes was a big part of the story, and we’ll get to him, but there were a few key skaters who quietly shaped the outcome as well.
Let’s run through four quick hits.
Quick Hit One: Nick Suzuki finally got a goal to drop.
Nick Suzuki had been grinding through a quiet stretch without a goal for about a week, which is a long time when you’re the guy carrying the mail. But in Game 7, he opened the scoring and reminded everyone what he is for this team. Over the full series, he finished with a goal and five assists, plus the kind of all-around stat line that tells you he’s doing the heavy lifting whether he’s scoring or not — shots, hits, blocked shots, the whole package.
Suzuki isn’t just a scorer in these moments. He’s the stabilizer. And getting that first goal in a Game 7 was something that can loosen a team up just enough to survive the night.
Quick Hit Two: Alex Newhook became a chaos-agent hero.
Alex Newhook scored the goal that pretty much sums up playoff hockey: messy, frantic, a little lucky, and completely decisive. Here’s the sequence: Hutson fires one from the point, Vasilevskiy kicks it out, with the puck flying off the end boards. Then Newhook does what smart players do in chaos. He goes to the net, finds space, and somehow bats it out of the air and in off the goalie’s back.
It was the first playoff goal of his career and the game-winner in Game 7. You can’t really draw it up better than that, even if you tried. He didn’t fill the scoresheet for all series, but that one moment? That’s the kind that sticks.
Quick Hit Three: Kaiden Guhle just kept doing the work.
Kaiden Guhle doesn’t always get the attention, but he’s been trending the right way. He put up two assists in Game 7 and four points over the last four games from the back end. That’s exactly the kind of quiet contribution teams need in the playoffs. He’s skating well, joining the rush at the right times, and not forcing things.
Quick Hit Four: Jakub Dobes was the calm in the storm.
And then there’s goalie Jakub Dobes. He stopped 28 of 29 shots in Game 7 and finished the series with a .923 save percentage. For a young goalie in that environment, that’s about as steady as it gets.
He didn’t look overwhelmed. He didn’t look rushed. He just played. He gives Montreal something very real heading into Round 2. That’s the belief that they don’t need perfect hockey every night to survive.
What’s next for the Habs?
Now it’s on to Buffalo to meet the Sabres. They are faster, deeper, and dangerous. But Montreal brings momentum, structure, and a few young players who suddenly look like they believe they belong here.
Game 1 is Wednesday, and if this series taught us anything, it’s that the Canadiens don’t need to dominate games to win them. They just need to hang around long enough for something to break their way. And right now, they’re still standing.