Inside the Numbers: Lightning Lose Another Heartbreaking Game 1

Tampa Bay continued some bad trends in a loss to the Montreal Canadiens

Apr 19, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle (21) shoves Tampa Bay Lightning forward Zemgas Girgensons (28) into the boards during the third period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Game one of the opening round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning took a while to get going Sunday night. Once the teams settled in, the game turned into a classic physical battle between two teams that clearly do not care for each other. Montreal only sent four shots on goal in the opening twenty minutes, but took a 1-0 lead at 13:24 when Josh Anderson's wrist shot to the right side caught Andrei Vasilevskiy leaning the wrong direction.

In the Montreal net, rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes was tested early and responded well in his first career playoff game, making several key saves throughout. The Canadiens under Martin St. Louis have become much more physical, and the animosity between the two teams was apparent from the opening puck drop. Let's dig deeper into some of the numbers from Game one.

3 - Sticks were flying like Harry Potter's broom in Game 1, and Tampa Bay took three high sticking penalties in the game (Montreal had one). These would prove costly as Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky would notch a hat-trick with all goals coming with the man advantage, including the game winner in overtime.

4 - The number of offensive zone penalties Tampa Bay took in the game. Needless to say, head coach John Cooper was not pleased with his team.

“We took four offensive zone penalties,” “That wasn't over-aggression. That was stupidity. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. This isn't game 62. That's extremely disappointing.”

- Lightning Head Coach John Cooper

5 - The number of power play chances for each team, and the total amount of power play goals in the game. Montreal went 3-of-5, while Tampa Bay went 2-of-5 on the power play.

86 - Total hits in Game one, with Tampa Bay holding a slight edge 44-42

.789 - Goals-against-average for Andrei Vasilevskiy in Game one, continuing an ugly trend for one of the best goalies in the National Hockey League. Over the last three seasons, the Lightning have been unable to escape the first round once. Tampa Bay's in-state rivals the Florida Panthers completed a gentleman's sweep the last two seasons in Round one on their way to back-to-back Stanley Cups. In those first round exits, Vasilevskiy has an average save percentage of just .881, well below his career playoff mark of .917

36- The number of face-offs Montreal won on Sunday (61%), total margin 36-23. Tampa Bay must do better on the draw in Game two, particulary in their defensive zone.

Puck drop for Game two is Tuesday April 21, 2026 at 7pm from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.