National anthem performance sparks strong reactions online
Nick Suzuki and Jon Cooper walked into Game 7 with the noise starting before the puck ever dropped.
The pregame anthem quickly turned into its own story. Amanda Breivogel’s rendition of O Canada drew heavy backlash online before Montreal and Tampa Bay got going.
That kind of thing usually burns hot for a few minutes and fades. This one stuck because it happened before a winner-take-all game, with both fan bases already running high.
The outside reaction was easy to spot. Some fans called the performance too theatrical and too drawn out, while others tried to frame it as gamesmanship before one of the biggest nights of the series.
That is where the hockey angle takes over. Montreal did not need any extra noise before Game 7, and Tampa Bay certainly did not mind a strange pregame moment tilting the mood inside the building.
Suzuki’s job in that spot is simple. Block out the circus, settle the bench, and make sure the Canadiens do not burn emotion on something that has nothing to do with the next shift.
Cooper’s group, on the other side, has enough veteran players to let a scene like that become part of the building’s energy without getting distracted by it.
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National anthem performance criticized as backlash builds online
That is the real point here. Fans can argue about the anthem all night, but Game 7 was always going to come down to execution, composure, and which stars actually grabbed the game.
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The anthem backlash did show one thing, though. This series had reached the stage where even the pregame presentation was getting judged like a playoff shift.
For Montreal, that can become a trap. If the Canadiens spend too much time feeling disrespected or annoyed, they are already giving away focus in a road Game 7.
For Tampa Bay, it is easier. The Lightning know the building, know the routine, and know how to let a loud room work in their favor without making it bigger than it is.
That is why this story is interesting but not all that important once the puck is in play. The anthem created a social-media mess. It did not create a scoring chance.
If Suzuki and the Canadiens were going to answer the night the right way, it had to come with their game, not their reaction. And if Tampa Bay wanted to lean into the chaos a little, Cooper’s team has enough experience to do exactly that.
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MAY 3, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dominic James | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sam Malinski | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Charles-Edouard D'Astous | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Gage Goncalves | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan O'Connor | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||