標籤: capture

The Montreal Canadiens (2-1) will host the Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2) in Game 4 on Sunday, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

The Habs emerged with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday, marking the third consecutive game in which these teams required extra time to decide a winner.

On the surface, this may seem like a close battle, but once we look at the numbers a bit, it becomes clear that the Canadiens have gained a significant advantage in a very important category: high-danger scoring chances.

In fact, before Sunday’s game, the Canadiens had controlled 75% of quality scoring opportunities, the best result of any playoff team through three games. This doesn’t mean they are dominating the Lightning, but it is an important development for the Habs, as they typically struggle when it comes to controlling the best opportunities over a period, let alone an entire series.

For fun, here are the HDCF% of the various teams in the playoffs after three games. It reflects the share of high-danger scoring chances a team generates.

#GoHabsGo Leading the league by a huge margin with 75%. https://t.co/vtaVVh8y3G pic.twitter.com/1XZdiqMTul

– Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) 25 April 2026

You could argue that Tampa Bay’s obsession with slick hockey is backfiring, as the Canadiens have not only created four times as many high-danger scoring chances, but they’ve also been bolting in the process, with defenseman Arbor Zekaj and forward Josh Anderson leading the physical charge.

Czekaj has also put up some of the best numbers among all NHL defensemen in the playoffs, forming a very solid third pairing with Jaden Struble.

If the Lightning continue to focus on extracurriculars, the Habs will have a great chance to take the series by establishing a 3-1 lead with a win on Sunday. However, if Tampa Bay begins playing regular hockey, it will make matters more complicated for the Canadiens.

Possible Lineup Changes

Neither Victor Hedman nor Charles-Edouard D’Estes are expected to be available for the Lightning, and although it’s likely we’ll see Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson back in uniform in the relatively near future, he will not play against the Lightning on Sunday.

We’ll know more about what’s next for Noah Dobson within 48 hours. @CanadiensMTL @TVASports

– Renaud Lavoie (@RLavoieTVA) 26 April 2026

Any lineup changes will be confirmed once the teams take the ice for pregame warm-ups, as both coaches are keeping their cards pretty close to their chests at this point in the postseason.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Cole Coffield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkowski

Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov

Zachary Bolduc – Kirby Dach – Alexandre Texier

Jake Evans – Philip Danault – Josh Anderson

Mike Matheson – Alexander Carrier

Caden Guhle – Lane Hutson

Jaden Struble – Arbor Zekaj

jacob dobbs

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lineup

Gage Goncalves – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hegel – Anthony Cirelli – Jake Guentzel

Zemgus Girgenson – Yanni Gourde – Nick Paul

Corey Perry – Dominic James – Scott Sabourin

JJ Moser – Darren Raddish

Ryan McDonagh – Eric Cernak

Declan Carlyle – Emil Lilliberg

Andrei Vasilevsky

How to watch Hubs Vs. bolt

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, April 26, 2026, will be broadcast on CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports. A quick recap with highlights will be available on SportsNote once the final whistle blows.

Additional NHL Playoff Analysis

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the winning streak of 12 straight games after Monday night’s comfortable road win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City officials are preparing for when the Thunder move to a new arena a few seasons from now.

On Tuesday, the Thunder released a video of what the new arena, to be called the Continental Coliseum, will look like.

The OKC Thunder’s new arena, ‘Continental Coliseum’ looks amazing 🔥

The arena will open in the 2028–29 season.

(via @OKSeaThunder)pic.twitter.com/ENS0Aa90gT

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 24 March 2026

The Thunder have been playing at the Paycom Center since its inception nearly two decades ago, through its various name changes, and it was the site of their first NBA championship, capping their historic 2025–26 season.

Thankfully for Thunder fans, the team will have two more years to make more memories at that historic venue before the new arena opens for the 2028-29 campaign. It remains to be seen what the inside of the Continental Coliseum will look like, and how it compares to its current home in Oklahoma City.

Meanwhile, the Thunder are giving fans plenty to cheer on the court this season, as the team is still firmly holding on to the number one seed in the Western Conference despite dreadful play from the San Antonio Spurs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks set to take home his second consecutive league MVP award, and Oklahoma City is viewed by most pundits as the favorite to win another NBA championship this season, although they will have some stiff competition in the form of San Antonio.

As mentioned earlier, the Thunder are currently on a 12-game winning streak, four wins away from a 16-game winning streak they had earlier this season.

Oklahoma City will look to make it 13 consecutive wins when they take the field for a tough road game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday evening.

Washington Commander-One of the greatest players in Redskins history is returning to the field for the first time in 24 years, and it’s all in an attempt to win Olympic gold in 2028.

In two years, the Olympics will return to the United States for the Los Angeles Summer Games. And for the first time, American football will be among the games played. However, it will not be traditional tackle football and will instead mark the debut of flag football as an Olympic sport.

This week, national team tryouts are taking place in Chula Vista, California, and one of the athletes vying for a spot on the USA Soccer roster is a Hall of Famer. The Associated Press reports that Washington Commanders veteran Darrell Green will be one of the players competing in the tryouts.

What makes this news so interesting is that the seven-time Pro Bowler’s 66th birthday is just a few weeks away. And the last time he played in an NFL game was in 2002. However, Green will go down as one of the greatest cornerbacks in league history because he was a freak athlete with epic speed, and it looks like the senior has some left in the tank.

“Darrell qualified through our digital combination. He’s later in his career than other testing participants, but his testing results were impressive,” Kelly Brownson, senior director of high performance and national teams for USA Soccer, told the AP. “Our coaches and staff felt he deserved a closer look. … He is a rare athlete who has remained in shape and is ready to compete this week.”

Green went viral in 2024 after a video surfaced showing how good the 64-year-old athlete was still when he took some high school players under the tree of learning in a training session. Furthermore, this is the same guy who ran a 4.2 40 yard dash in 2000 at age 40.

If there was any player who could surprise USA Soccer officials and earn a spot on the team, it’s Darrell Green. It also helps that some current NFL stars will be taking part in flag football’s Olympic debut.

The corner played all 20 of his NFL seasons in Washington, and is their all-time leader in games played, interceptions and defensive touchdowns. He was the first inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s recovery from injury is nothing short of a medical miracle. Tatum tore his Achilles tendon during the Celtics’ second-round matchup against the New York Knicks in the 2025 playoffs. Injuries typically keep players from recovering from a full season, but Tatum is determined.

Videos have surfaced of the six-time All-Star doing vigorous workouts, and NBC even produced a miniseries highlighting his recovery journey. It appears he is ready to take the court again this week, as he is set to make his highly anticipated return on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Tatum’s return adds to the unprecedented season the Celtics spent without their star. The Celtics are currently second in the East at 41–20, as many NBA fans and forecasters believe that they will not be true contenders without Tatum being active on the roster. Jaylen Brown has emerged as a potential MVP contender and has added potential to the team.

While it’s certainly a plus that Tatum is returning to the lineup, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix believes Tatum will have to make a big adjustment to the team and emerge as Jaylen Brown’s first option.

“I think [Jayson] Tatum knows that by coming back he is stepping into Jaylen Brown’s team. Brown is a top five, top six MVP candidate this year. He has put this team on his back aggressively. And Tatum will have to find a way to fit in.

In 54 games played, Brown is averaging 29 points per game, 7.1 rebounds and 5 assists per game with one steal. He is shooting 48% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range. He has been the catalyst for the Celtics’ success as he has kept himself in the competitive conversation. But if Tatum returns to full strength, he’s still one of the best players in the NBA.

Playing 72 regular-season games last season, his averages were unimpressive: 26.8 points, 6 assists and 8 rebounds per game, and shot 34% from three. Tatum has emerged as a star-level playmaker who can score and get buckets for his team.

While Jaylen Brown has stepped into his role, the addition of Jayson Tatum could be a scary proposition for the rest of the Eastern Conference.

The Detroit Pistons have had a strong season so far, thanks to the stellar play of Cade Cunningham. But the two-time NBA All-Star guard may soon get some more help in the form of Carmelo Anthony.

During Pistons media day, Cunningham revealed that he had talked with the Hall-of-Famer about potentially working together.

“Me and Melo, we talked a few times,” Cunningham said in September 2025.

Carmelo Anthony, who has since joined NBC Sports as their analyst, recently talked about Cunningham’s rise on a call with the media for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

“I like it,” Anthony said. “I’ve been a fan and watching Cade since high school. I’ve watched his growth, development and maturity over the last four or five years. We’ve kept in touch. He reached out to the gym and wanted to work on certain aspects of his game. I saw it as a sign of maturity, he wanted to slow the game down and pick his spots. He wants to get to his spots where he can be aggressive and efficient and take advantage of mismatches. We’re talking, watching film. And talking about the film, I am his guide and provide insight.

This isn’t the first time Carmelo Anthony has spoken highly of the Detroit Pistons star. In March 2025, the former Nuggets and Knicks star highlighted Cade Cunningham on his podcast, “7 PM in Brooklyn”.

“I think we’re seeing the development of Cade Cunningham,” Anthony said. “The grit is like going through the process. He’s starting to find his groove, find his flow, find his speed, his confidence, he’s shooting the ball. He’s like ‘I’m here’, and as a result, they’re winning.”

Cade Cunningham has had another strong season for the Pistons, averaging 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. In 47 appearances this season, Cunningham is averaging career highs in assists, steals, blocks and two-point field goal percentage.

Cunningham has led the Pistons to the best record in the Eastern Conference and second-best record in the NBA at 40–13.

The Pistons began their post-All-Star break schedule with a two-game road trip against the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls. Given that Carmelo Anthony lives in New York and has previously scheduled a workout with Cunningham in the Big Apple, it will be interesting to see if the two get a chance to get together before Thursday night’s game.

Houston Rockets veteran Kevin Durant does not agree with the notion that the NBA’s All-Star Game was more intense than it is in today’s era. Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green criticized the new format of the All-Star Game, as the association attempts to make its signature event more competitive after weak reactions in recent years.

As for Durant, he does not agree with the story of how competitive the All-Star Game was for the NBA during the 1990s and 2000s, and He explained the reason Saturday during All-Star media day.

“I’m watching the All-Star Game and the older generation is talking about the intensity of it,” Durant said. “I don’t know if I saw it or not, you know?”

“I’m watching the All-Star Game and the intensity the older generation is talking about. I don’t know if I’ve seen it before.”

– Kevin Durant 🗣️pic.twitter.com/d4Y66J7yfw

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 14 February 2026

The NBA’s new USA vs. World format will feature three teams – Team World, USA Stars and USA Stripes – each with eight players, competing in a round-robin tournament.

Kevin Durant will play for the USA Stripes team alongside LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James and New York Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson, as well as Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Cleveland Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell. Brandon Ingram of the Toronto Raptors and De’Aaron Fox of the San Antonio Spurs are replacing injured All-Stars Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks.

Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic, Denver Nuggets two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and first-time All-Star Jamal Murray will play for Team World. Alperen Sengun of the Rockets, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks and Victor Vembanyama of the Spurs are also on the team, as well as first-time All-Star forwards Danny Avdija of the Portland Blazers and Pascal Siakam of the Indiana Pacers.

Kawhi Leonard hopes players ‘compete’ in All-Star Games

Clippers veteran Kawhi Leonard thinks the All-Star Game will be competitive this season. However, for Leonard, how game starts “It’s important,” he said, according to NBA on Prime Insider Chris Haynes.

“It’s going to start with the starters, whoever gets there first,” Leonard said. “For me, personally, we need to get back to the way it was, and if guys are going to play hard, they’ll play hard. I think it will be competitive this year. I don’t know what the format is like. But hopefully, guys are competing. They usually do, but it’s also an All-Star Game.”

Met up with Clippers star Kawhi Leonard in LA ahead of the All-Star Game on Sunday. Many topics were discussed, including whether people would work hard. pic.twitter.com/ppgZi4L5uU

– Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) 14 February 2026

Leonard will play for the USA Stripes team.