Montreal now sits four wins from the Eastern Conference Final, with another division rival standing in their path.
Dobes Steals the Show
Dispatching a team the quality of the Tampa Bay Lightning was no small feat; after seven games the margin between these two teams was non-existent. Power-play goals were five apiece; the Canadiens were one goal better at even strength, outscoring the Lightning 11-to-10.
Goaltending is heavily deterministic in outcomes of series come playoff time, and there is no doubt Jakub Dobes outplaying Andrei Vasilevskiy was the ultimate difference maker. Tampa Bay might have had more of the puck throughout the series – and especially in Game 7 – but Dobes' 28 saves on Sunday were enough to get the job done.
Top Line Must Reclaim Dominance
It's been rare, perhaps exceptionally rare, that Montreal's young guns at the top of the lineup have been held in check like they were against Tampa Bay.
The main reason Montreal was so competitive all year was because of their dynamic trio at the top of the lineup. Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky formed one of the league's deadliest lines all season long.
The Lightning threw a heavy dose of Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, and Nikita Kucherov against Montreal's best line and had tremendous success. The Canadiens' top line was four goals underwater in the series.
Without the trio of Kirby Dach and Zach Bolduc outscoring Tampa Bay 6-0 in their minutes, we might not be talking about Montreal making a second-round appearance.
Depth Carries the Load
Given their track record of success over the past several seasons, it'seasy to chalk this up as a one-off – the Lightning are one of the few teams in the league with the personnel to match up against Montreal's best.
Part of winning in the postseason is not relying on the same few players to outperform every single night. Give credit to Montreal's depth for picking up the slack when the team needed it most.
Round 2 Challenge
It goes without saying that Montreal will need Dobes to outplay Alex Lyon and Buffalo in the second round. But to dispatch this Sabres team, Montreal urgently needs to get its top line going.
Buffalo is a different sort of problem for Montreal; they may not have an elite five-man matchup unit a la Tampa Bay, but they have incredible depth and will be able to roll three lines and three pairings confidently.
In short: Montreal survived the first round on elite goaltending and depth scoring. Advancing against a team like Buffalo will require their star trio to reclaim their dominance.