Canadiens-Lightning series comes down to Game 7

Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning

When/Where to Watch: Game 1, Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT (TNT). Series: Tied 3-3. The Lightning are 7-3 in Game 7s, including 4-1 in Tampa Bay. They beat Toronto in Game 7 to close out a first-round series in 2022 in their last winner-take-all game. The Canadiens are 15-9 in Game 7s, including 7-6 on the road. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay for his eighth career playoff shutout in Game 6. The Vezina Trophy finalist and two-time Cup winner is used to the pressure. It’ll be the first Game 7 for Canadiens rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes, who has been outstanding in the series. Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel has six goals in six games.

Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche

When/Where to Watch: Game 1, Sunday, 9 p.m. EDT (TNT). Series: Second-round opener. These two Central Division foes know each other well. Both teams were 2-1-1 against each other this season, given the NHL’s point system. They each won a game in regulation and lost in a shootout. Not only that, but the matchup features seven players who were in the gold-medal game — won by Team USA — at this year's Milan Cortina Olympics. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche and Wild are meeting for just the fourth time in the postseason. The last time these two teams met was the first round of the 2014 playoffs when Minnesota won Game 7 in overtime. Avalanche standout Nathan MacKinnon made his playoff debut in that series. The Wild also won the 2003 conference quarterfinals in seven games over Colorado, while the Avalanche captured a 2008 conference quarterfinals series in six games. “It’s going to be a really hard series,” Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes said. “They’ve got some ultra-competitive guys, too. It’s a great challenge for us. We’re going to be looking forward to it.” \\\_ AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report. \\\_ AP NHL: