Canadiens fume over Kirby Dach non-call before Lightning’s overtime winner
Photo credit: © Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Kirby Dach was in the middle of the call Martin St-Louis never got, and Gage Goncalves made Montreal pay in overtime.
This was not just another officiating complaint drifting out of a playoff loss.
It was a sequence that changed the shape of the series.
Goncalves scored at 9:03 of overtime, giving the Tampa Bay Lightning a 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens and forcing Game 7 on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. in Tampa.
The issue is what happened seconds earlier.
Anthony Martineau questioned whether Dach was interfered with before the winner, and that matters because Dach was the Montreal player trying to recover defensive position.
Dach non-call shifts the Game 7 pressure
The clip shows Dach getting tied up away from the puck, losing his lane as Tampa Bay keeps the play moving toward the crease.
"Alright. I’m really not someone who cries injustice.
But am I crazy, or is that a blatant missed interference call on Dach just seconds before the game-winning goal?"
- Anthony Martineau
But am I crazy, or is that a blatant missed interference call on Dach just seconds before the game-winning goal?"
- Anthony Martineau
That is the part Montreal fans will replay, because this was not a harmless bump behind the play.
Dach was taken out of his route before the puck reached danger ice, and Goncalves turned that loose crease scramble into his first goal and second point of the postseason.
For St-Louis, the bigger problem is emotional control.
The Canadiens cannot take this frustration into Game 7 and start chasing calls instead of managing shifts.
Tampa Bay, under Jon Cooper, will gladly turn that irritation into rushed exits, soft clears, and tired defensive-zone coverage.
Montreal’s response has to be sharper than anger.
Dach’s next game now carries a different weight: win inside the play, stay available, and make the officials irrelevant.
Because once puck drop hits in Tampa, the non-call becomes useful only if it fuels a cleaner, harder Canadiens start.
Also read on House Of Hockey :
NHL moves Canadiens-Lightning Game 7 to an unusual start time
NHL moves Canadiens-Lightning Game 7 to an unusual start time