The Montreal Canadiens’ performance against teams from their division was a significant part of the reason why they were able to qualify for the playoffs last season, and that included their winning record against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While Jon Cooper and his men are no longer the reigning Stanley Cup champs they were in 2020 and 2021, they are still a contending team every year.
The Habs took on the Bolts three times last season and won two of the three duels, outscoring the Florida outfit 11-9 in the season series, showing character and determination.
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The first duel between the two teams came on December 29, just the second game after the Christmas break. Fresh off a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers, the Canadiens triumphed 5-2 over the Lightning in the second game of a back-to-back. After seeing his backup blank the Cats, Samuel Montembeault put on a strong display, saving 21 of the 23 shots he faced, making key stops when needed. It was a win acquired by the veterans as Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Joel Armia, and Brendan Gallagher all found the back of the net after Alex Newhook opened the score in the first period.
A month later, at the Bell Center, the Canadiens showed character coming back from behind to snatch a 3-2 win after Tampa Bay had taken a 2-0 lead. Montembeault was instrumental in the win, making 33 saves as his teammates only tested Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 times. Patrik Laine got a pair of assists, including one at even strength on the game-tying goal, while Jake Evans scored the game-winning goal with 2:15 left in the third.
The Lightning came back strong in the last duel of the season on February 9, posting a 5-3 win while the Canadiens were in the midst of an awful sequence. They were 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and were hoping to bounce back before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Tampa Bay’s best players stood tall on the night, with Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Victor Hedman, and Anthony Cirelli all picking up a pair of points.
The secret of the Habs’ success against Tampa last season was their ability to keep the Bolts’ best players in check. In the three games of the series, Guentzel, Hagel, and Cirelli only had three points, meaning they all had only one across the first two games. Hedman and Nikita Kucherov could only manage a pair of points in the season series. The fact that Vasilevskiy only had a .889 save percentage also helped.
Montreal’s team effort and depth scoring were also key since the Bolts blanked both Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki in the season series. Armia, Dvorak, and Gallagher all played significant roles in those wins, and if the Canadiens are hoping to have the same kind of results against Tampa this season, their best players will have to step up. Armia and Dvorak will no longer be there to provide veteran leadership and depth scoring. Newcomers Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc won’t be the solution since they had moderate success against the Bolts; Dobson was blanked, and Bolduc had one point in two games. Ivan Demidov could potentially make a difference; however, if the Canadiens find a way to put him in winning conditions, on a second line that manages to develop chemistry.
Tampa Bay didn’t make huge moves this offseason; they didn’t really need to, but they did sign recently reacquired forward Yanni Gourde to a six-year contract extension. The veteran generally does well when playing against the Canadiens; he has 15 points in 21 games. The Bolts' most significant move this offseason probably was to move Isaac Howard, who had let it be known he wouldn’t sign with them, to the Edmonton Oilers for Sam O’Reilly, a Memorial Cup Champion with the London Knights.
The bottom line, however, is that if the Canadiens intend to become contenders, they will need to keep on performing well against teams that know how to win, like Tampa. To win against those teams when it matters the most, you also need to get top performances from your key players. Caufield and Suzuki need to play their usual key role against this team as well.
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