Montreal Canadiens hockey players advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs. In the most dramatic series of the Eastern Division, they won the seventh meeting on the Tampa Bay Lightning ice 2:1 and in the end they triumphed 4:3 in the entire series.
04/05/2026 05:15, updated: 07:06
Photo: TNS/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Slovak striker Juraj Slafkovský (20) could definitively decide on the win. However, Tampa Bay striker Brandon Hagel (38) brilliantly thwarted his goal into an empty net in the 7th game.
In the end, Juraj Slafkovský succeeded in the Slovak micro-duel with Erik Černák, who returned to the first formation of the Canadian team and thus contributed to the Canadiens’ progress to the next stage.
In it, the trustees of Martin St. Louis with the Buffalo Sabers, who beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 in the 1st round of the playoffs.
The first duel in Buffalo is scheduled for the night from Wednesday to Thursday, May 7.
Montreal’s Slovakian striker could seal the score at 3:1 in the final seconds and score his fourth goal in this year’s playoffs.
However, in the end, Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel foiled his shot into the empty net with a fantastic defensive save.
It was he who, in the second meeting, sent the Slovak star to the ice with one blow during a mutual battle.
The interesting thing is that only nine shots were enough for Montreal to win, they didn’t score a single one in the second period.
Czech Canadiens goalkeeper Jakub Dobeš had 27 successful saves and was one of the best players in the duel.
While Slafkovský continues in the season, it is over for another Košice Černak and all of Tampa Bay.
The 28-year-old defender is thus available to national team coach Vladimír Országh for the needs of the 2026 WC in Switzerland.
Slafkovský played 21:27 minutes in the last duel of the exciting series, recorded a plus point, one shot on goal and one point.
Černak spent 17:18 minutes on the ice, had a minus and one blocked shot.
In the opening meeting of the 2nd round in the same conference, Colorado triumphed over Minnesota by a high score of 9:6.
The opening duel of the series between Colorado and Minnesota brought a wild 15-goal shootout with the Avalanche triumphing 9:6. The elite “avalanche” formation collected a total of 15 Canadian points.
Paradoxically, Colorado’s first defense, consisting of Cale Makar and Devon Toews, was the most successful. The first-named scored two goals, to which he added one assist, and was the first star of the match. Toews had an even better record when, in addition to the goal, he added three assists, which was enough for him to be awarded the second star.
Forward Martin Nečas (0+3) and star center Nathan MacKinnon (1+2) also scored three points. Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist. On the opposite side, defender Quinn Hughes scored a three-point duel with a 1+2 balance.
NHL – results:
Eastern Conference quarterfinals – 4 wins, seventh game:
Tampa Bay Lightning – Montreal Canadiens 1:2
series status: 3:4, Montreal advanced
Western Conference semi-finals – 4 wins
first match:
Colorado Avalanche – Minnesota Wild 9:6 series status: 1:0
