Lightning-Canadiens Game 7: Key players, final score picks

It all depends on the host a game tampa bay lightning And montreal canadiens.

Three wins each, with four of the six games requiring extra time to decide the winner.

Which team will advance to compete buffalo saber In the next round, and who will spend the coming months wishing that could happen One More chance of doing so?

Our panel of hockey reporters and analysts is here to break down the key players to watch in Sunday’s Game 7.6pm ET, TNT), as well as make predictions on the final score.

Who is the key player you will watch in Game 7?

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: jacob dobbs. Most of the conversation around the Canadiens has been about how their young core will handle another playoff run. An argument could be made that Dobbs has been one of, if not When it comes to how this club will operate in the future, this is the most consistent performer in the series. They have given the Canadiens a chance to win every game throughout the series.

Doing the same in Game 7 would raise his profile in a city in which the No. 1 goaltender already attracts plenty of attention.

Emily Kaplan, NHL reporter: Nikita Kucherov. He may have won the Hart Trophy for league MVP this season, scoring a ridiculous 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists, which is 42 points more than his closest teammate) in 76 games, but his postseason hasn’t been up to his same stellar standards — yet.

In the Lightning’s team worst performance of the series, a Game 5 loss at home, Kucherov’s body language was noticeably poor. The Tampa Bay staff says the star winger is cut short this season. They always make it clear: Kucherov isn’t complaining about teammates or coaches, he’s more disappointed with himself that the plays he expects aren’t materializing. Kucherov could erase all that story with a signature performance in Game 7.

Victoria Matias, NHL analyst: cole caulfield. enough is enough. As effective as Tampa Bay has been in suppressing Montreal’s top line, Caufield is far behind after scoring more goals this season – 51, including 40 – than any unknown individual. nathan mackinnon. If Andrei Vasilevsky Having not played his best in this series, the league’s second-best scorer had a good chance to score four quality shots (0.65 ixG, according to Evolving Hockey) in Game 6.

If Caufield finally manages to add a goal to his current modest power-play tally in this series when it matters most, the Habs will have a much better chance of advancing to face the Sabres.

Arda Öcal, NHL broadcaster: Andrei Vasilevsky. The Big Cat is one of the most clutch goaltenders in NHL history. He has eight playoff shutouts in his career and seven of them were in either series-clinching or elimination games.

He stood tall with the shutout in Game 6, and made 30 saves, his second-most in a playoff shutout. If Tampa Bay wins Game 7, it’s with one of the most reliable members of their roster in over a decade.

Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: brayden point. It’s strange that Point’s biggest impact on this series is sparking heated debate over an (alleged?) missed high-sticking call in Game 6, which (possibly?) cost the Lightning a four-minute power play. Point has a goal against the Canadiens heading into Game 7, and does so after collecting 50 points in 63 regular season games. He has been a point-per-game producer in the playoffs before, and even more than that, has been an offensive driver of points for Tampa Bay.

But to think that he’s spending an average of about 20 minutes in the snow, and it still feels (only half-jokingly) like his face is on a missing person’s report? This isn’t the standard Point has set for himself over the years (he once scored 51 goals in a season!), and if Point is holding something back or waiting for the spotlight to shine fully on him, well, it’s time to move on. The Lightning need more from their star players and the pressure is on Point to make a difference in Game 7.

Greg Wyschinski, NHL reporter: Brandon Hagel. Coach John Cooper called him “The straw that’s fueling us” in these playoffs.And for good reason. He has scored. He has fought. He has antagonized Canadians. He has gone from a great two-way player to a great player.

Look no further than Game 6’s overtime winner: How Hagel circles around one Montreal player and then magnetically attracts two others to open up a deep part of the field where gauge goncalves Finally scored. He’s one of the main reasons they’re in Game 7. Maybe that’s why they win it.

game

Lightning force Game 7 on Gage Goncalves’ OT goal

Lightning force Game 7 on Gage Goncalves’ OT goal.

The final score will be _____.

Clark: 3-2 Canadiens in OT.

Kaplan: 2-1 Lightning in OT.

Matias: 3-2 Electricity.

Occal: 2-1 Habs in triple overtime. Because after the series they’ve had, why not?

Shilton: Lightning fell 2-1 in double OT.

Vyshinsky: 4-2 Lightning, redeeming themselves in front of the home fans after an embarrassing Game 5 effort.