The heist of the century: Montreal knock out Tampa with just 9 shots! 
It is the kind of result the NHL has never seen. On Sunday night, the Montreal Canadiens pulled off the impossible, winning Game 7 with a microscopic total of 9 shots on goal. Yes, you read that right. For all the lack of offense, the Canadiens scraped out a 2-1 win on the Lightning ice, ending a wild series in which every game was decided by a single goal. Montreal is through to round two and can already start packing for Buffalo.
Alex Newhook: the impossible-angle strike that changed everything
The man who took centre stage was Alex Newhook. With the game tied in the third period, the forward fired from an almost impossible angle and the puck deflected off Andrei Vasilevskiy before dribbling over the line. It was his first goal of the series, and it came at exactly the right time. Before that, Nick Suzuki had opened the scoring in the first period with a fortunate deflection that fooled Tampa’s goalie, a clear sign luck had picked a side for the winner-takes-all showdown.
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Jakub Dobes, the real architect of the miracle
If you’re looking for the true mastermind behind this robbery, start with Jakub Dobes. While his team-mates struggled to get anywhere near the opposition net, Dobes kept coming up with key stops, turning away 28 of Tampa’s 29 shots. Only Dominic James managed to beat him on the power play. At the other end, Vasilevskiy had a nightmare: he faced just 9 shots, gave up two goals, and watched his team go out in the first round for a fourth straight year.
Next stop: Buffalo
The Canadiens will not have much time to celebrate this historic masterpiece of winning without doing much at all. Their next round against the Buffalo Sabres begins on Wednesday. After a series this draining, physically and mentally, rest will matter. One thing is certain: if Montreal keeps winning games with fewer than 10 shots, the legend around this team will only grow.
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