Tampa Bay Lightning On SI

Goncalves, Vasilevskiy save day and carry Lightning to Game 7

A classic goalie duel ends in overtime, as Tampa Bay escapes against Montreal

Ethan J. Skolnick

May 1, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gage Goncalves (93) scores the winning goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
May 1, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gage Goncalves (93) scores the winning goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

There's been a lot of questions of late of Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Is the Tampa Bay goaltender still who he was -- and could he still put the Lightning on his pads when he needs to?

For three periods and more on Friday night, he did.

Vasilevskiy stopped all 30 shots he faced, taking the Lightning to overtime, where Gage Goncalves -- on assists from Brandon Hagel and Dominic James -- became the first of the night to beat Jakub Dobes for a 1-0 win in Montreal.

The goal sent the series to Game 7 -- which will be back in Tampa on Sunday at 6pm. The game will be available on TNT. The winner will face the Buffalo Sabres, who eliminated the Boston Bruins on Friday night.

The play started with a nifty move from Hagel at the blue line, as two Canadiens attacked him, and he eluded both. He fed James down low, and the puck went to Goncalves, who was stuffed at first, but made second and third efforts to finish the play and the game. It was Goncalves' first goal of the series, and the first overtime goal of his career. He scored 11 goals in 74 regular season games in 2025-26, his second full season, but did not score in the final 16 games, plus the first five of this series.

So yes, an unlikely hero.

His heroics would not have happened had the big goaltender not stepped up throughout regulation.

Vasilevskiy had been outplayed at times by Dobes throughout the series, but they matched up evenly on Friday. In the end, Vasilevskiy finished with 30 saves and Dobes with 32, including two on Goncalves before the puck eluded him. Vasilevskiy's best sequence came at the end of the second period, late in a penalty kill, as he covered the entire net for a brilliant glove save to rob Ivan Demidov.

So now the series is tied.

Jon Cooper, the Tampa Bay coach, was able to strut off the ice at Bell Centre, due to a clutch performance from his long-time goaltender.

If the Lightning win Sunday to advance, they would have another difficult challenge ahead. The Sabres were 3-0-1 against Tampa Bay this season, including what many considered one of the games of the year, an 8-7 Buffalo win in March that included five fights.

First, though, Tampa Bay needs one more stellar outing from its pillar in net.

Published |Modified
Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Home/News