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Lightning most to blame for crushing Game 7 loss to Canadiens
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- Lightning most to blame for crushing Game 7 loss to Canadiens
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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Bolts have lost in the first round. With their Eastern Conference title three-peat long gone, some serious conversations have to start in Tampa. Here is who to blame the most for the Lightning's first-round loss.
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The Lightning and Canadiens played the closest series of the first round , and not just because it yielded the only Game 7. According to Dmitri Filopovic of The PDOCast, "439:45 of the 445:22 total time in that Habs vs. Lightning series was played with the score either tied or someone up by just 1." So even though there are people to blame in this series, the Bolts were awfully close to coming out on top.
The Lightning are headed home, and these three players are most to blame.
Do the Lightning have an Andrei Vasilevskiy problem?
Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
Andrei Vasilevskiy has two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe trophy, and a Vezina Trophy to his name, with another potentially on the way. He has a great Hall of Fame case once his career is over. But the last four postseasons have not been his best, and could cost him a place in Toronto when all is said and done. He just put up a save percentage below .900 for the fourth consecutive postseason.
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The Canadiens managed just nine shots on goal in Game 7 , the lowest by any team to ever win a postseason game. Neither puck that beat Vasilevskiy was an easy save, as deflections and bounces played a role in both goals. But when the team defense does their job better than any team in a Game 7 ever, the goalie needs to step up.
Vasilevskiy has two years left on his contract, so he will be the starter for the Lightning next year. But it is time to start thinking about life after Big Cat, and his playoff performance should force that conversation to start now.
Nikita Kucherov with another Game 7 dud
Nikita Kucherov had a fantastic regular season, putting up another 130 points. He eclipsed 400 career goals and 1,000 career points, and could win another Hart Trophy as league MVP. Similar to Vasilevskiy, his resumé is unimpeachable as a modern great. But in seven Game 7s, Kucherov has zero points. That needed to change for the Lightning to beat the Canadiens, but it did not. And when a great like Kucherov has the recent playoff history he does , the blame will be heading his way.
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In the 22 playoff games Kucherov has played since 2022, he has just two goals. His 22 assists have his point total over a point-per-game pace, which is a strong mark. But over half of those assists have come on the powerplay in the last four springs. The Lightning are powered by Kucherov's passing and goal-scoring in the regular season. If one of those superpowers goes away, the Bolts become very ordinary.
A disastrous season ends for Brayden Point
When the Lightning were winning Stanley Cups, there were few players more important than Brayden Point. He scored 28 goals and 56 points in the 46 playoff games he played in the two championship runs. Then, he took the greatness to the regular season, scoring 51 goals in 2022-23, then following it up with two more 40+ goal seasons. That came to a screeching halt this season and did not return in the playoffs.
Point scored just 18 goals with 32 assists in 63 games this regular season. He had more even strength points in 2024-25, 51, than he did total points this year. But certainly, a proven playoff performer like Point would turn it around in April? That did not occur, as he scored one goal and did not record an assist in the seven-game series .
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Do not be surprised if Point reveals a painful injury that impacted his entire season when the Lightning meet the media. This is not the play he has grown accustomed to, and it is one of the biggest reasons the Bolts are headed home.
Related: Lightning's Nikita Kucherov's Game 7 legacy just got worse after Canadiens stunner
Related: Lightning's Jon Cooper makes 'Hockey Gods' claim after stunning Game 7 loss
