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Defenceman Mike Matheson can relate to fans who might have felt like they were on the verge of having a heart attack watching the Canadiens lose 1-0 in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night at the Bell Centre.
Gage Goncalves scored at 9:03 of OT to even the best-of-seven series 3-3 and force Game 7 Sunday in Tampa (6 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).
Fans react outside the Bell Centre in Montreal during Game 6 between the Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday, May 1, 2026. John Kenney / Montreal GazetteLightning head coach Jon Cooper described Game 6 as “epic” and he was right with Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy making 30 saves and the Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes stopping 32 shots.
“It was definitely exciting,” the Canadiens’ Matheson said after the game. “We were able to generate a lot of chances and credit to their goalie. Both goalies played really well.”
Matheson, who logged 28:47 of ice time, is happy he was playing in the game and not watching as a fan.
“It’s so much worse watching it, for sure,” he said. “I lived that with my wife through her career.”
Matheson’s wife, Emily Pfalzer, won a gold medal as a defenceman with Team USA at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, beating Canada 3-2 in a shootout in the final game. She also won gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championships in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Matheson met his future wife, who is from Buffalo, when they were both playing hockey at Boston College.
“I was a mess every time when she was in the Olympics,” Matheson said. “I could barely watch. There’s something about not having control over it. But I think when you’re on the ice you’re just so focused that the nerves don’t hit you as much.”
The Canadiens are the youngest team in the playoffs, but they remained composed throughout the Game 6 loss.
“We did,” Matheson said. “It’s not easy to come into this building and know how excited our fan base is and want it so badly to be able to stay composed like that. I was really happy with our group.
“We’re not surprised that it’s ending up in Game 7 and we have a lot of confidence that we can go down there and find a win.”
The Canadiens have won two of the first three games in Tampa during this series.
Wheels up to Tampa
The Canadiens flight to Tampa for Game 7 left from the Montreal Metropolitan Airport in St-Hubert at noon Saturday.
Before boarding the flight, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis spoke with media members who were there.
“We’re not here for a ribbon,” St. Louis said. “We want to move on. I think we’ve proved that this is where we are now. We worked to get to this spot. You play a Tampa in the first round and you know you’re going to need everything and we’ve delivered that. It’s to keep going. It’s a good spot to be in and I think the guys have enjoyed the process and also are hungry to keep moving forward.
“I think the guys are very confident that we can get the job done.”
Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes freezes the puck during the epic Game 6 at the Bell Centre on Friday night, May 1, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal GazetteDobes continues to shine
It looked like the Lightning would have a big edge in goaltending heading into this series with the veteran Vasilevskiy — who has two Stanley Cup rings from 2020 and 2021 — going up against the rookie Dobes.
It hasn’t worked out that way.
After six games, Dobes has a .916 save percentage, while Vasilevskiy’s is .905. The 24-year-old Dobes has allowed three or less goals in 18 of his last 20 games. During that 20-game stretch, Dobes has stopped 542 of 588 shots for a .922 save percentage.
“He’s been amazing,” Matheson said about Dobes after Game 6. “So solid. He battles so much. I think it gives us a lot of energy. Again, tonight, he was really good.”
Defenceman Alexandre Carrier said he likes the way the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Dobes comes out of his net to challenge shooters.
“He’s huge,” Carrier said. “You can see when he gets out of his net he’s got confidence and it shows when he does stuff like that he’s really in his game and he’s focused. He’s been solid all series long. As a defenceman, you feel comfortable with him, for sure.”
Carrier was asked if he’s still confident when Dobes wanders out of his net and starts handling the puck, which can sometimes be an adventure.
“I mean, I like him better when he’s in net,” Carrier said with a chuckle. “But it just shows I think when he makes plays like that that he’s really in a zone.”
Where does Carrier think Dobes has improved the most over the course of this season?
“Oh, boy. He would know more than me,” Carrier said with another chuckle in a media scrum while pointing at former NHL goalie Patrick Lalime, who now works for TVA Sports. “I just feel like he’s been playing amazing and just his confidence level.”
Canadiens’ Phillip Danault reaches back to keep the puck from crossing the goal line after Tampa Bay Lightning shot on goalie Jakub Dobeš in Game 6 of the National Hockey League playoff series in Montreal on Friday, May 1, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal GazetteAn epic shift for Danault
Phillip Danault has shown during this series why Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was willing to give up a second-round pick at this year’s NHL Draft just before Christmas to bring him back to Montreal for a second stint after the veteran centre had spent the last four-and-a-half years with the Los Angeles Kings.
Danault was on the ice for the final 3:31 of the Canadiens’ 3-2 win over the Lightning in Game 5 Wednesday night in Tampa. In Game 6, Danault saved a goal with just over 14 minutes left in the second period when the puck got past Dobes, but Danault was in position to stop it on the goal line.
“We hope he’s going to bring experience,” Hughes said after trading for Danault. “He’s been here before. I think people in this market know what he is as a hockey player.”
Danault was thrilled to come back to Montreal and happy that Hughes had confidence in him.
“They knew exactly what they were going to get from me,” said Danault, who has won 56.5 per cent of his faceoffs in the six games against Tampa to go along with one assist. “Obviously, it wasn’t the scoring touch, necessarily. That’s not what they needed. But defensively, all the little details when it matters the most, playoffs as well.”
Danault said he never even looked at the bench to see if St. Louis wanted to take him off the ice at some point during the final 3:31 of Game 5.
“I didn’t even look at Marty,” Danault said with a grin. “I didn’t notice the shift going three minutes. I was just in my zone. It’s my bread and butter, kind of. It was just awesome.”
It really was.
Danault is happy to be playing playoff games at a sold-out Bell Centre. In 2021, only 3,500 fans were allowed at the Bell Centre for the Stanley Cup final games because of provincial health regulations during the COVID pandemic.
“It’s so electric and so proud to be here and play for this organization in front of those fans,” Danault said. “They’ve been unbelievable. There’s no better crowd than this, that’s for sure.”
Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis watches overtime of Game 6 of the National Hockey League playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Montreal on Friday, May 1, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal GazettePraise for St. Louis
Danault said he loves playing for St. Louis, who is a lot different from Dominique Ducharme, who was head coach of the Canadiens at the end of Danault’s first tenure with the Canadiens that ended with a Stanley Cup final loss to the Lightning in 2021.
“He brings some touch-ups every game on the O-zone or neutral zone, I would say, because it’s all about neutral zone,” Danault said about St. Louis. “He brings details every game, which I didn’t see in the past. So that means to me he’s watching the game and he’s thinking about the next game and what details he can do against certain teams. Very smart. It’s good to play for a coach like that. I’ve never been part of this.
“The coaches I had (before) were more old school,” Danault added. “Very straight. Show up to the game and a certain system that we kept following. But Marty is just adjusting every single game. Since I’ve been here, at least, it’s been like that. That’s why as a new player it’s a little harder to come in because there’s so many rules. There’s certain rules you got to repsect, but then every game there’s a new one. So it’s hard to adjust, but once you do it it’s really awesome.
“He’s a players’ coach, but has high, high expectations for his players. That’s the way it should be and he wants to win. Very dedicated, very passionate about the game. I don’t think he would be doing that (coaching) if he had no passion about the game.”
Say what?
The Bell Centre has been incredibly loud for the Canadiens’ three home games against the Lightning, which can make it difficult for players to communicate on the ice.
Late in the second period of Game 4 — which the Canadiens lost 3-2 — Juraj Slafkovsky was flattened near centre ice by a huge hit from the Lightning’s Max Crozier.
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki yelled out to warn Slafkovsky about the coming hit, but it was hard to hear.
“It’s pretty loud,” Slafkovsky said before Game 6. “I kind of knew the guy was there. I kind of heard Suzy. But I was so committed to going there and just ended up being a big one.
“He got a good hit,” Slafkovsky added. “Good for the guy. He doesn’t play much, so maybe it makes him play a little more. But gotta take it. It doesn’t matter if I get hit or anything, it’s (about) how I come back. I just wanna keep playing hard the same way. I think it’s all good.”
Slafkovsky scored three power-play goals — including the overtime winner — in the Canadiens’ 4-3 Game 1 victory in Tampa, but he hasn’t scored since. After going 3-for-5 on the power play in Game 1, the Canadiens are 2-for-19 in the last five games with the man advantage.
The Canadiens’ No. 1 line of Suzuki, Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield has yet to score a goal at five-on-five in the series. Caufield has one power-play goal, while Suzuki has yet to score. All three of them are minus-5 for the series.
Carrier said the loud crowd at the Bell Centre can make it difficult for defencemen.
“Just to talk in the D zone and on the PK sometimes,” he said before Game 6. “But it’s part of the game. It’s for them, too, as well. So it’s fair for everybody.
“Obviously, we don’t want our fans to be quiet tonight, we want them to be super loud,” Carrier added. “It’s part of the game, but it is sometimes you say something (on the ice) and you come back to the bench and you communicate and he didn’t hear you.”
Canadiens’ Lane Hutson is surrounded Tampa Bay Lightning’s Ryan McDonagh, Brandon Hagel, Emil Lilleberg and Anthony Cirelli in Game 6 of the National Hockey League playoff series in Montreal on Friday, May 1, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal GazetteHutson can play defence
Lane Hutson’s offensive talents are obvious, but the 5-foot-9, 162-pound defenceman has proved this season and in the playoffs he can also play solid defence.
Hutson won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie last season after posting 6-60-66 totals and a minus-2 differential. This season, while playing in all 82 games for the second straight year, he posted 12-66-78 totals and was plus-36, which ranked seventh among NHL defencemen.
“I don’t know if it’s one thing,” St. Louis said when asked where Hutson’s defensive play has improved the most this season, “I feel like he has such a high, high compete level and a high, high intelligence.
“If something happens to him once, he learns from it quick and it doesn’t happen again,” St. Louis added about Hutson, who logged a team-high 30:46 of ice time in Game 6. “To me, game to game, he’s been a big part of our success. But, overall, I would say what impresses me most with Lane is his compete level.”
Canadiens’ Cole Caufield takes a shot on the Tampa Bay Lightning net after getting behind Brandon Hagel during Game 6 of the National Hockey League playoff series in Montreal on Friday, May 1, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal GazetteLady Byng winner?
The NHL announced Thursday that Caufield is one of three finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy, which goes to the player who “exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” It is voted on by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Caufield finished the season with 51-37-88 totals and only 14 penalty minutes. The two other finalists are Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar and Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson.
“Kent (Hughes) told me yesterday on the plane,” Caufield said after Friday’s morning skate. “It was pretty cool. Told the card table. Had a good laugh about it, or whatever, and just kind of on to the next thing. But pretty cool and honoured to get that recognition.”
Kopitar, playing in his 20th and final NHL season, has already won the Lady Byng Trophy three times. Caufield wouldn’t mind seeing the Kings captain win it a fourth time.
“It’s pretty special, a guy like that who’s won it before,” Caufield said. “A guy that kind of is the perfect name and example for that kind of award. Hopefully, he can win it for his last year.”
Caufield is hoping he can beat Hutson when it comes to growing a playoff beard.
“I got a head start, but it needs to be a little heavier, yeah,” Caufield said with a chuckle. “I got Lane … not a lot of other guys I can beat.”
If Caufield can score in Game 7 against the Lightning that would definitely help his chances of filling out that beard.
Additions to lineups?
It will be interesting to see if Noah Dobson is in the lineup for the Canadiens in Game 7 and if fellow defenceman Victor Hedman joins the Lightning.
Dobson hasn’t played in the series because of a thumb injury, while Hedman hasn’t played since March 19 for personal reasons.
Before Game 6, Cooper was asked about Hedman’s status.
“It’s hard for me to sit here and say whether he’s going to play in the series or not,” the Lightning coach said. “This has the maximum of two games left. … Our anticipation is that our season isn’t going to end tonight. So take it for what it is, but he’s not playing tonight.
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“I would never put a player into a situation where the player wasn’t 100-per-cent comfortable,” Cooper added. “Me being coy with the media, that’s a completely different story. But when it comes to players that haven’t played in a while, that have been hurt, we go through a whole checklist here and the player has to be completely comfortable with playing.”
Dobson took part in the Canadiens’ morning skate Friday at the Bell Centre, but didn’t play in Game 6.
Long run of success
The Lightning are in the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, including back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the 2021 Stanley Cup final. The Lightning also lost the 2015 Stanley Cup final to the Chicago Blackhawks.
When Cooper was asked about his team’s long run of success ahead of Game 6 against the Canadiens, he said: “It started here.”
The Lightning were swept by the Canadiens in the first round of the 2014 playoffs. The next season, the Lightning beat the Canadiens in six games in the second round en route to their Stanley Cup final loss to the Blackhawks.
The Lightning have lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons and Cooper also spoke ahead of Game 6 against the Canadiens about how hard it is to win the Stanley Cup.
“Let’s be honest,” he said. “The percentage of winning a Stanley Cup when you start the year for some I think as a high it’s like 8 per cent. And for some teams that just snuck into the playoffs this year it was way less than that.
“Do we have an analytics guy here that can tell us that?” Cooper added with a smirk. “So it’s super-hard to win and you get here and everyone’s like ‘How come you’re not (winning)?’ Yeah, because the chances of you winning are like slim. You have to start giving yourself a chance. We give ourselves a chance by making the playoffs. We’re not giving ourselves a chance when we get bumped in the first round and we have of late, which has been unusual for us. That’s not in our MO for a long time prior to last couple of years.
“I think it’s look-in-the-mirror time — and I’m included in that. It’s not just the core group. I consider myself in that core, too. And so we need to look in the mirror here.”
The Lightning and Canadiens are now looking at Game 7.
The post Stu’s Slapshots: Mike Matheson can relate to emotions of Canadiens fans appeared first on Montreal Gazette.
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