TAMPA, Fla. (AP) 鈥� The Tampa Bay Lightning dominated most of Game 7, had triple the scoring opportunities and still found a way to lose.
It鈥檚 an early exit for the fourth straight season.
A pair of fluky goals helped the Montreal on Sunday night, sending Tampa Bay to a familiar first-round exit.
The Lightning played their best game of the series, held the Canadiens to just nine shots and yet are heading on vacation while the Canadiens advance to face the Buffalo Sabres.
Montreal鈥檚 first goal bounced off Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser and went in. The second was whacked out of the air behind the net, hit goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy鈥檚 pad and his backside and went in..
鈥淭he hockey gods have been in my corner many, many times. Tonight they were in the other corner,鈥� Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
For a talented team whose standard is hoisting Stanley Cups, nobody has any answers. Since falling two wins short of a three-peat in 2022, Tampa Bay can鈥檛 win a series.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really have words,鈥� Ryan McDonagh said. 鈥淵ou like a lot about the game. From start to finish, we stuck with our process and our plan. But at the end it doesn鈥檛 matter because they had two, we had one. It鈥檚 a loss. Credit to them. They grinded and found a way.鈥�
The Lightning just couldn鈥檛 get much past rookie goalie Jakub Dobes throughout the series. He made 28 saves in Game 7. Tampa Bay didn鈥檛 get enough production from its offensive stars. Nikita Kucherov, who had 130 points in the regular season, still has zero in his career in Game 7s.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some disbelief in our room that we can play like that and not walk away with anything,鈥� Cooper said about the defensive effort. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 have played any better and still it wasn鈥檛 good enough. You have to tip your cap to (Canadiens coach) Martin St. Louis, Jakub Dobes and the Montreal Canadiens.鈥�
After tallying 106 points in the regular season and finishing second in the division, the Lightning missed an opportunity to make a run at the Cup.
And, the team could be running out of time together.
Kucherov and Jake Guentzel, the team鈥檚 two leading scorers in the regular season, and Vasilevskiy are in their early 30s. McDonagh is 36. Captain Victor Hedman, who hasn鈥檛 played since March, is 35.
Darren Raddysh, who is coming off a breakout 70-point season, will be a free agent.
鈥淚t sucks. You don鈥檛 get any younger that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� Brandon Hagel said. 鈥淚 have one goal on my mind every single year and I just want to win.鈥�
The Lightning have to wait until next year to do that.
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