It's official, the Montreal Canadiens will be participating in more playoff hockey, having won their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Canadiens were victorious in Game 7, winning 2–1 against the Bolts, and taking a 4–3 series victory in the process.
This can only be seen as a significant step forward for the organization, as they were clearly the underdogs heading into the series, and yet, they rarely allowed the Lightning to establish a single-goal lead.
They also took the lead in high-danger scoring chances for the majority of the series, which was the driving force behind their first-round win, along with some other factors including Jacob Dobbs' goaltending and Montreal's scoring depth.
Next playoff opponent
The Canadiens will face the Buffalo Sabers in the second round of the 2026 NHL playoffs, and given that they finished the regular season with 109 points, three more than the Habs, Buffalo will maintain home-ice advantage in the series.
Buffalo picked up its first-round win by defeating the Boston Bruins 4–1 on Friday, with Alex Tuch (4), Mattias Samuelsson (2), and Zach Benson (2) providing the offense for the Sabres, while David Pastrnak (3) was the only scorer for the Bruins.
The Habs have the wind in the air, but this could turn out to be a very tough series, as Buffalo is a bad matchup from a stylistic standpoint. Montreal and Buffalo split their four-game season series, but there were stretches in which the Sabers defeated the Canadiens by much larger margins.
Such is life in the NHL playoffs.
To be the best, you have to beat the best, and the Sabers are certainly one of the best teams in the NHL this year.
Canadiens Vs. Sabers second round schedule
- game 1 – Wednesday, May 6 at 7 pm KeyBank Center
- game 2 – Friday, May 8 at 7 pm KeyBank Center
- game 3 – Sunday, May 10 at 7 pm Bell Center
- game 4 – Tuesday, May 12, 7 pm Bell Center
- *game 5 - Thursday, May 14, TBD | KeyBank Center
- *game 6 – Saturday, May 16, TBD | Bell Center
- *game 7 – Monday, May 18, TBD | KeyBank Center
*if necessary.
