After the Canadiens' win, Lightning players all focused on this one surprising issue
Ryan McDonagh and Martin St-Louis forced a real shift in this series Thursday night. Tampa Bay's room finally said Montreal earned the win.
The Canadiens beat the Lightning 3-2 in overtime, and the bigger story came after puck drop ended.
Tampa Bay's veterans stopped framing this as bad luck and started calling it what it was.
McDonagh was the clearest voice in that locker room.
He said Tampa Bay gave up breakaways and odd-man rushes that had not been there earlier in the series, then admitted the better team won that night.
We gave them breakaways and odd-man rushes, we hadn't done that in this series, but tonight it slipped away from us defensively.
Hats off to Vasy, he gave us a chance in overtime, but in the end, the right team won tonight.
And that team won on us."
That matters because players do not usually hand out that kind of respect in the middle of a playoff round.
Not when the series is still alive, and not when the margin is that thin.
For Montreal, that is a sign the pressure has moved across the hallway.
The Canadiens are not just hanging around. They are dictating stretches, pulling Tampa out of structure, and making the Lightning chase details.
Jake Guentzel pointed to discipline, and that gets right to the heart of it.
Montreal's power play has enough talent to swing a game when opponents keep feeding it extra touches.
It's been going on since the beginning of the series, myself included.
We have to fix this.
They're one of the best power plays in the league for a reason, and they have a lot of talent.
They've earned it."
The Lightning know that. So do the Canadiens.
Tampa Bay is talking about Montreal's playoff pace now
Brayden Point did not hide from the moment either. He called the next game massive and said Tampa Bay has to learn from its mistakes fast.
That sounds a lot like a team that expected to control this matchup and now realizes it is dealing with a real pushback series.
We know we can be better.
We have to learn from our mistakes tonight and show better in the next game."
The tone changed because Montreal made it change.
That is why this result should not be brushed off as one emotional night at the Bell Centre.
There was already pressure on Tampa Bay. McDonagh's comments only confirmed that the Lightning feel it too.
If Montreal grabs another one, this stops being a nice playoff story and starts looking like a real turning point.
For now, the biggest win for St-Louis may be this: Tampa Bay walked out of that game talking less about itself and more about Montreal.
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YESTERDAY
APRIL 24, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Lawson Crouse | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Leo Carlsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kirby Dach | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jackson Lacombe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Connor McDavid | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Evan Bouchard | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nic Dowd | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kasperi Kapanen | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexander Killorn | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mason McTavish | 1 | - | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||