Lightning vs Canadiens live score as Montreal leads Game 7 in second period

Updated May 3, 2026, 7:35 p.m. ETFor anyone watching the tug of war all season in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division, it shouldn't surprise anyone the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds are going to a seventh game.After a 30-save shutout from Andrei Vasilevskiy led to a 1-0 overtime Lightning win over the Canadiens and kept Tampa Bay alive, the series returns to Tampa for a definitive Game 7. The Canadiens and Lightning have played each other incredibly tight throughout the series, and now the Buffalo Sabres lie in wait for the winner.It's what every hockey fan outside of Montreal and Tampa wanted. The Lightning are playoff stalwarts and, though they dropped off in the latter part of the season, they're always a tough out. The Habs are one of the league's upstart teams, and won 11 of their final 14 games. Every game this series has been decided by one goal, four of them have gone to overtime, and the teams are even at scoring, 14-14 and 9-9 at even strength.In short: This is what the Stanley Cup playoffs are meant to be. Both teams are playing to their strengths, with the Lightning controlling the puck and maximizing their time