Kucherov's questionable Game 7 call says everything about Tampa's panic
Zachary Bolduc didn’t blink. The Canadiens forward ran through Kucherov in Game 7, then Moser flew in like he had scores to settle.
Montreal won the series 4-3. Game 7 ended 2-1 in Tampa. Alex Newhook scored the winner.
The Lightning are out. Martin St-Louis, against the team that drafted and developed him, just sent his old mentor Jon Cooper home in the first round.
The bump itself was during a stoppage.
Bolduc skated through, gave Kucherov a shoulder, and the Tampa star reacted the way he had reacted all series, looking for a whistle that wasn't coming.
Watch the clip. Bolduc never breaks stride, Kucherov sells the contact like he's been shot, and Moser comes barreling in shoving everyone in a red sweater within reach.
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That had been the subplot for a week. Kucherov chirping Jakub Dobes.
Embellishing reactions to draw calls. The Amalie Arena crowd was howling for a penalty, and the officials waved it off.
How Martin St-Louis flipped the script on his old mentor
Brandon Hagel did most of the lifting for Tampa, putting up 6 goals and 8 points in 6 games.
The Bolts needed two of those guys producing. They got one.
Montreal's first line did the rest. Cole Caufield, 51 goals in the regular season.
Nick Suzuki, 101 points. Lane Hutson with 2 goals and 6 points in this round from the back end as a rookie defenseman.
And Newhook? He played 42 regular season games. Shows up in May with the goal that ends Tampa's playoff run.
That's the kind of depth contribution that decides series like this.
Bolduc finished with 4 points in the round and a +5 rating. He's not a star.
He's the type of agitator every contender needs in the bottom six.
So Kent Hughes gets Buffalo in the second-round and a young roster that just answered every question this series asked.
Brisebois has a different summer ahead.
The next round starts Wednesday in Buffalo. Different building, different style, different problems.
And a Canadiens room that just learned it can win the ugly ones too.
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MAY 3, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Devon Toews | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cale Makar | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sam Malinski | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dominic James | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||