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The Canadiens Butted Their Way Into An Upset
May 4, 2026
Posted 3 hours ago by
It has been noted that the Montreal Canadiens won Game 7 of their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night with a Stanley Cup Playoff record low nine shots on goal. This is clearly not true. It was eight. It can only be nine if we are defining on as behind, and goal as the goalie's behind. This matters because the Canadiens won the game, 2-1, and so stole the series despite being dominated by the Lightning in all the ways that the visible eye could discern, provided you're not picky about the scoreboard.
It matters because the decisive goal, by Alex Newhook, was actually more of a desperate swipe at an airborne (as in three feet off the ice) puck while he was three feet behind the goal line that struck Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on his right leg pad and then his seater and then bounced into the goal with 8:53 to play. It was Montreal's sixth (or technically seventh, if you're going to be whiny about it) shot on goal, and also an extreme example of how hockey can work despite all the provable evidence. Newhook's swinging bunt had no business being a goal for about six different reasons, but sometimes there's that seventh reason you never considered. This time, it won a series that frankly should still be going on this morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suYKFCVhfBE
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