The Tampa Bay Lightning did everything but beat the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round series on Sunday night. Unfortunately for the packed house of 19,092, it was the score that mattered – and the Canadiens got a shaky goal by Alex Newhook with 8:53 remaining in the third period, earning a 2–1 victory and a second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres.

Newhook broke a 1-1 tie when he caromed Lane Huston’s shot off the end board to the right of Andrei Vasilevskiy. The puck was knocked out of the air while still behind the net and went over the Lightning goaltender’s back and into the net. This was his first goal in the series.

It was one of only nine shots on goal by the Canadiens in the game, which were outscored and outplayed. They went nearly 27 minutes without a shot on goal, including a shotless second period. Montreal became the first team since shots on goal became an official statistic in 1959–60 to win a playoff game without reaching double figures.

“They had two, we had one,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “It’s hard to put into words how it ended.”

Montreal’s rookie goaltender Jacob Dobbs maintained the lead with some great stops after Newhook’s goal. He made 28 saves to earn First Star of the Game honors. Dobbs made excellent stops on shots from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jake Guentzel shortly after Newhook’s goal. He also fell on a low rocket from James with less than five minutes remaining.

The Lightning lost their fourth consecutive first-round series. Their last win came in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, when they defeated the New York Rangers in six games. The Canadiens won a series for the first time since defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 semi-finals. They lost to Tampa Bay in the finals.

All seven games were decided by one goal and four went to extra time.

“That’s all you can ask of your team, whether it’s an Olympic tournament or a best-of-7 playoff, you get better as you go along,” Lightning coach John Cooper said. And I thought as we progressed, we got better. I thought we played our best game of the series tonight.

Lightning season ends with Game 7 loss to Canadiens

The Lightning outshot the Canadiens 9–4 in the opening period and controlled the game for most of the first 20 minutes. Dobbs made his best save with less than five minutes remaining when he stopped Gage Goncalves on a backhander from the front after the Game 6 hero slipped through the defense.

But it was the Canadiens who got on the board first, thanks to a lucky bounce.

Defenseman Caden Guhle had little to do from the left point, which Suzuki deflected into the slot. It was headed wide but bounced off Lightning defense JJ Moser and past the defenseless Vasilevskiy at 18:39. His first goal in the series gave Montreal a 1–0 lead.

The second period belonged entirely to Tampa Bay. The Lightning defeated the Canadiens 12–0, as Montreal failed to register a shot on goal in the playoff period for the first time in franchise history. Tampa Bay spent most of the period in Montreal territory and the game was eventually tied 1–1 at 13:27.

Neither team scored in the first power play. But the Lightning took advantage of their second opportunity after Guhle was called for holding Jake Guentzel at 12:33. Coach John Cooper went with his second power-play unit and was rewarded when Goncalves set up Charles-Ehouard D’Estes for a slapper from just inside the blue line.

James got his stick on the shot and deflected it past Dobbs, who had no chance.

Montreal got its second power play at 15:22 when the Lightning were called for having too many men, but the Canadiens again failed to generate much pressure. Neither team was credited with a shot on goal in the final six minutes. For the fifth time in seven matches the score remained equal even after 40 minutes.

Dobbs evened the score with a big stop on Goncalves from the slot 5:10 into the third period.

Vasilevskiy finally had to make a save at 5:34 of the third period when he blocked Suzuki’s long snap shot. The Canadiens began to generate more pressure, with the Lightning blocking four shots in a 12-second span near the midpoint of the period.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Newhook’s goal stunned the crowd and the Bolts could not find an answer this time despite a 7–3 advantage in high-danger chances and a 32–12 dominance of all scoring opportunities in the game.

“Sometimes you win the game, not the score,” Cooper said. “But this is Game 7. There’s no moral victory in this.”

Key takeaways after Lightning season ends with 2-1 loss to Canadiens

Chasing but not catching Montreal

The loss of power was not due to lack of effort. But they spent the entire series chasing the Canadiens.

Montreal scored the first goal Sunday, marking the fifth time in seven games the Canadiens got the opening goal; One of the first two chances the Lightning scored was in their 1–0 overtime win in Game 6. Montreal won Games 1, 3, and 5, meaning they never took a lead in a game while trailing in the series.

The Lightning lost three of four home games, one of which they defeated Montreal 29–9.

“You have about 30 shots and you miss nine,” center Brandon Hagel said. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done before in a Game 7 — win the game on nine shots. But that’s not the point. I mean, you lose three home games, it’s going to be tough to win the series.”

The Canadiens defeated the Lightning 16–15 in the series and secured their net after Newhook’s series-winner.

“They got the lead and protected it,” Cooper said. “When they broke down, their goalkeeper was there.”

When the stars struggled the fourth line stepped forward

One reason the Canadiens won was that they shut down the Lightning’s big guns – Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Hagel – when it mattered most.

Kucherov had six points in the first four games but none in the last three. Hegel had only one assist in Games 5–6–7 after scoring six times in the first four. Guentzel’s goal in the second period of Game 5 was the last of his eight points in the series. Point, who was a three-time 40-goal scorer before finishing 18th this season, had only one point – a goal in Game 3.

The line of Goncalves, James and Bjorkstrand gave the Bolts a chance to win the series. James scored his first goal of the series in Game 5, had the primary assist on Goncalves’ OT winner in Game 6 and scored Tampa Bay’s only goal in Game 7. Goncalves assisted on both of James’ goals in addition to his series-extending goal on Friday.

What’s next for Lightning?

This is the most painful of Tampa Bay’s four consecutive first-round losses. The Lightning were largely outplayed in the first three, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games in 2023 and to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in five games in 2024 and 2025.

Tampa Bay is not expected to make too many changes to a team that has been one of the NHL’s best teams for nearly a decade. Kucherov struggled in the final three games but still had 44 goals and 130 points (and plus-43) in 76 regular season games. Hegel has scored a career-high 36 goals and has at least 30 goals in three of the last four seasons. Vasilevskiy is a Vezina Trophy finalist and is likely to win the award given to the NHL’s best goaltender for the second time.

James and Goncalves showed they have the ability to play higher in the lineup. Moser has become an excellent defender.

One question is whether GM Julien Brisebois can find a way to retain Moser’s teammate Darren Radish, who made just $975,000 in a career year with 22 goals and 70 points. He’ll definitely get a lot of big dollar interest. According to Pukpedia, the Lightning have less than $14 million in cap room next season. How much they will be willing to spend on Radish will be a big question.

stat shots

It was the 105th Game 7 out of 202 in NHL history to be decided by one goal.

Montreal improved to 16–9 in Game 7. The Canadiens are 8–6 on the road, the most Game 7 wins away from home.

Cooper lost in Game 7, less than three months after coaching Team Canada, in a 2–1 overtime loss to Team USA in the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics. Their teams lost both games despite a combined 71–37 lead in shots on goal. “As soon as the last buzzer went off, I felt like, I’ve seen this movie before,” he said.

Vasilevskiy started his 120th consecutive playoff game. The last time the Lightning started a playoff game with a different goaltender was May 13, 2016, when Ben Bishop was injured in the first period of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Only three goaltenders in NHL history have started more consecutive playoff games than Vasilevskiy: Martin Brodeur (194), Patrick Roy (137), and Henrik Lundqvist (129).

Dobbs is the fifth rookie goaltender in Canadiens history to win a Game 7.

Tampa Bay’s loss means there will not be a Florida-based team in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2019. The Lightning (2020-2021-2022) and Panthers (2023-2024-2025) each won twice and lost once in the last six seasons.

Jon Krieger covered his first New York Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and it… More about Jon Krieger

The Montreal Canadiens are set to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of their tightly contested first-round series, with each game decided by a single goal.

Indeed, five of the six games required overtime, suggesting that any advantage in Game 7 would go a long way in deciding the series winner.

Take a look at some of the keys to success as the Habs prepare to face the Bolts.

defensive sharpness

Prior to Game 6, the Habs had done a great job of limiting high-danger chances from the Lightning.

On average, the Bolts managed to generate less than five quality scoring chances per game at 5v5, while the Canadiens were closer to 7 per game.

However, fortunes completely reversed in Game 6.

The Lightning held a 22-7 advantage in quality scoring opportunities, essentially doubling their overall production in just one game. It was enough to erase Montreal’s significant advantage in that statistical department throughout the series (45-41, 52.3%).

If the Habs are to win Game 7, they will need to recapture the defensive excellence that led to success in the first five games of the series. Slowing down the Lightning in the neutral zone, which will slow them down from the rush, will also go a long way in limiting the odd man rush.

star effect

We’ve discussed the lack of first-line offense at 5v5 several times throughout the series, but at this point, regardless of the situation, the team just needs to show them off.

Whether it’s the power play, penalty kill, overtime, or any other possible scenario, the Montreal Canadiens will need Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkowski to lead the offensive attack.

To return to his effective ways, he must find a way to increase his shot production, an issue that has plagued him against the Lightning.

hold the line

There are many advantages to being the youngest team in the league, and the Canadiens perform at their best when their backs are against the wall, but their lack of experience in Game 7 could be seen as a red flag.

Making it to the second round of the NHL playoffs is hard enough, taking a certain level of focus that is usually easier to find among the veterans.

On the other side of the coin, their youthful enthusiasm may be enough to ease nerves and allow them to focus on the task at hand, of course, with a little help from their friends.

#hubs Brendan Gallagher has his advice for players who will be playing their first GM7 today: “Nerves are normal, being over-excited is normal, you just have to believe in yourself and trust your teammates… show up, do your job and we feel we have what it takes to get the job done.”

– Priyantha Amrith (@HabsInHighHeels) 3 May 2026

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 Tampa Bay Lightning forced their Eastern Conference First Round series into a seventh game with a 1-0 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 at the Bell Center on Friday night.

The Atlantic Division rivals were held scoreless through more than 69 minutes of action before Gage Goncalves hit a loose puck past Jacob Dobbs for the game’s only goal. Brandon Hagel crossed a checker at the right point and fed Dominic James in the bottom right circle. James threw the puck on net, where Goncalves got a shot at it.

Dobbs got a slice of the shot, but Goncalves got to the loose puck and put it into the net at 9:03 for the win.

The goals came after each goaltender made game-saving stops in OT. Seconds after Lightning star Nikita Kucherov was called for tripping 5:30 into overtime, Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy blocked Game 1 hero Juraj Slafkovsky’s one-timer from the right circle. The Lightning killed off the remaining penalties, and Kucherov almost won it by coming out of the box, getting the puck in the Montreal zone and forcing Dobbs to make a spectacular stop to keep the game scoreless.

Vasilevskiy, who allowed a soft goal in Montreal’s 3–2 win in Game 5 that proved to be the winner, bounced back with a flawless, 30-save effort. Dobbs finished with 32 saves as the teams played their fourth overtime game and sixth one-goal game in the series that has become a classic.

The series returns to Benchmark International Arena in Tampa for Game 7 on Sunday. But playing at home may not be to Bolt’s advantage; The home team has lost four out of six matches in this series.

To say that the scoreless first period was played at a fast pace would be an understatement. With the Lightning in “win or go home” mode and the Canadiens eager to end the series in front of their home fans, both teams were excited. The Canadiens had 26 hits in the opening 20 minutes; The Lightning, not known as a physical team, had 15.

Cole Caufield, Montreal’s 51-goal scorer during the regular season, almost opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game; He beat Vasilevskiy but hit the post. That happened when Tampa Bay’s Yanni Gourde picked up a foul play from Dobbs and took a shot to the back of the net, but couldn’t connect on the wraparound, causing the puck to slip through the crease.

Vasilevskiy faced tougher chances as the period progressed, robbing Jake Evans from close range twice and denying Ivan Demidov from the right circle on a 2-on-1.

The Canadiens got their first power play of the game when Jake Guentzel was called for an unnecessary high-sticking penalty with 11 seconds remaining, but nothing was generated.

The pace was a little less frenetic in the second period, but the result was the same – no goals. This was largely due to some late heroics from Vasilevskiy, who lived up to his status as a Vezina Trophy finalist – especially after Charles-Edouard was called for slashing at 16:54. He denied Caufield again from 20 feet, then robbed Demidov from the right circle after a perfect setup and denied him again on the rebound.

The Canadiens continued to control the game after the power play ended and Vasilevskiy kept the game scoreless for 40 minutes on a last-second effort by Philippe Denault.

Montreal controlled the first five minutes of the third period, but the game changed after Montreal defenseman Caden Guhle was called for slashing Guentzel at 5:11 to break up a solo scoring chance. Tampa Bay did not score but applied a lot of pressure and dominated the game for most of the rest of the period.

The Lightning got a late power-play opportunity when Demidov was called for goaltender interference with 3:17 left after fouling Vasilevsky.

Tampa Bay controlled the puck for almost the entire power play, but couldn’t get past Dobbs, who made big saves on Kucherov, Radish and the point, then denied Brandon Hagel’s tip-in attempt shortly after the penalty ended.

Tampa Bay finished regulation with a 28–27 edge in shots on goal and an 81–58 differential in attempts.

Key takeaways after the Lightning survive by defeating the Canadiens 1-0 in Game 6

Vasilevsky stepped forward

The Lightning were swept in Game 5, but were even at 2–2 before Vasilevskiy was defeated by a blocked shot 99 out of 100. He more than atoned for it in Game 6, earning the 70th playoff win and eighth shutout of his career.

The “Big Cat” was everywhere, leaving Montreal shooters (and team executives) shaking their heads.

“He was excellent tonight,” D’Astas told Scripps Sports. “Because of them we’re going back to Tampa. It was fun to see.”

Hegel said having Vasilevskiy in goal allows him and his teammates to play with more freedom.

“You can go out and play your game and not have to worry about what’s behind you,” he said. “It seemed as if Vasi would never allow another goal.”

Goncalves an unlikely hero

On a team with stars like Kucherov, Vasilevskiy and Hegel, it’s easy to lose sight of players like Goncalves, who is a bottom-six forward and does a lot of attacking work. He was scoreless in the series before getting an assist in Game 5 and had not scored a goal since March 17.

But he missed the game-winner by tipping defenseman Caden Guhle and refused to leave the game after Dobbs blocked his first-time attempt.

“I talked to him before the game about what he needs to do in this game, be where he needs to be,” Cooper said. “It was only fair that such a goal was needed to win. It was a brilliant game by both teams.”

win or go home, take 2

The Lightning probably could have flown home even without the plane – such is the feeling of a season-saving overtime win. But as Cooper said, “We haven’t won anything yet.”

Both teams have had success in Game 7. The Lightning have won seven of 10, including four of five played at home. This is their first Game 7 since the first round in 2022, when they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1.

Montreal is 15-9 in Game 7s, including a 7-6 mark on the road. The Canadiens’ last Game 7 came when they defeated Toronto 3–1 in the second round in 2021. Ironically, Corey Perry scored the game-winning goal – the same Corey Perry who would be trying to help the Lightning end his former team’s season.

Hegel said, “These are the moments you live for.”

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The Tampa Bay Lightning provided a stern test on Sunday night, coming back from two goals down to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 at the Bell Center and even their Eastern Conference First Round series at two-up.

Brandon Hagel’s second goal of the game with 4:53 remaining in regulation capped the comeback. Hagel was battling for position in front of Montreal goaltender Jacob Dobbs when Nikita Kucherov fired the puck on net from the right board near the top of the circle.

The shot hit him and hit the net, giving the Lightning their first lead of the night.

Hegel tied the game at 2-2 at 1:40 of the third period, winning inside position in front of the net and converting a cross-crease pass from Kucherov into a power-play goal.

Jake Guentzel’s goal in the final minute of the second period put Tampa Bay on the board, after which Montreal took a 2–0 lead on goals by Zachary Bolduc and Cole Caufield.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 16 saves for his 69th career playoff win. Dobbs stopped 17 shots.

Teams get two days off before Game 5 at Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday night. The Lightning will try to win consecutive playoff games for the first time since the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, when they lost the first two games to the New York Rangers before winning the next four.

The Lightning had an early chance to take the lead when Montreal was called for fouling just 2:04 after an early face-off. They controlled the puck in the offensive zone for most of the two minutes, but Dobbs blocked a rocket from Darren Raddish and Canadiens defenseman Caden Guhle got his stick on Braden Point’s open shot from the slot.

Montreal did not get a shot on goal until Caufield tested Vasilevskiy at 6:20. But after Bolt took consecutive penalties, the Canadiens got six shots in a span of 3:48 – Max Crozier was called for high-sticking at 7:22 and Yanni Gourde was called for cross-checking at 9:10. Vasilevskiy was up to the challenge, blocking a shot by Game 3 hero Lane Hutson and denying Game 1 hero Juraj Slafkowski on a rebound.

The final nine minutes of the period contained hit penalties by the Canadiens (who finished the period with a 23–10 lead), but few testing shots on either goaltender. Montreal finished the period with a 9–6 lead in shots on goal, but the Lightning held them to just three at 5-on-5 and none at all in the final 8:04 of the period.

The first half of the second period was much the same. Tampa Bay did nothing on the early power play after Josh Anderson was sent off for boarding 41 seconds into the period and neither team produced much offense.

But the game changed shortly after intermission when the Canadiens finally opened the scoring.

Bolduc took a pass at the Tampa Bay blue line and cut to the net, with Reddish trying to stop him. As Bolduc approached the net, Vasilevskiy made a poke-check, but it hit the Canadiens forward and bounced into the net at 10:06, giving Montreal a 1–0 lead.

Guentzel took a bad slashing penalty at 12:24 for hitting Dobbs after a save, and the Canadiens took advantage of it at 13:29 thanks to smart play from their top line. Nick Suzuki controlled the puck in the left corner and Caufield, a 51-goal scorer during the regular season, went to the front of the net before deflecting a perfect pass past the helpless Vasilevskiy for the 2-0 lead.

But the Lightning appeared to get a jolt of energy when Crozier, playing his first game of the series, leveled Slafkowski at center ice with a brutal but clean hit just before the 18-minute mark.

Guentzel then responded with a power-play goal to put the Lightning on the board with 54 seconds remaining. With the teams playing 4-on-4, he moved the puck around the net, passed it to JJ Moser at the right point, raced in front of the net and converted a sensational pass by Moser for his first goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 2–1.

The Lightning didn’t produce much on the power play in the first two periods, but they were nearly flawless after Oliver Kapanen was called for high-sticking 51 seconds into the third. Tampa Bay worked the puck around the offensive zone before a Kucherov-to-Hagel combination tied the game.

Kucherov’s play on the winning goal surprised the Canadians. He caught a quick glimpse of Hegel heading to the front of the net and fired the puck on the goal, where he caught a piece of Hegel and headed it into the net for the win.

Key Takeaways After Lightning Even Series By Beating Canadiens 3-2

Hegel continues to score

Lightning has scored 11 goals in this series. Hegel has six of them, as his pair in the third period evened the best-of-7 series. Needless to say, Hegel leads all NHL players in postseason goals – no one else has more than four.

He also helped the Bolts make some history.

Hagel promoted the 10th multi-goal comeback playoff win in Lightning history, and their fourth on the road. It was his first appearance since defeating the New York Rangers 3–2 in Game 3 of the 2022 Eastern Finals. It was also the fourth consecutive comeback win in this series; Montreal and Tampa Bay are the first set of teams to combine to start a series with four consecutive wins since the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets played five such games in the 2019 Western Conference First Round.

Crozier’s hit might have changed the series

The Lightning looked like they were headed home in an attempt to avoid a fourth consecutive one-upmanship in the Stanley Cup playoffs when Caufield’s goal gave the Canadiens their first two-goal lead of the series. The Bell Center crowd was roaring, the Canadians were flying and Bolt looked a little surprised.

Then Crozier, who hadn’t played for the Lightning in the postseason since 2024, stepped up — literally.

The 26-year-old, who played 35 games for Tampa Bay this season, finishing with a goal and 10 points, caught Slafkowski near the red line as he received a pass and flattened him with a clean but devastating hit.

The Canadian barked at Crozier but did not attempt to retaliate for the attack, which caused a fire under the lightning. The jolt of energy was palpable, and became more intense after Guentzel’s goal made the score 2–1 less than 90 seconds later.

“He makes a big play and comes back to the bench,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said on the Scripps Sports postgame show.

the resident comes again

The Lightning trust Vasilevskiy to deliver when it matters most. he did the same in game 4

The “Big Cat” did not face many shots – Montreal attempted 48 but managed only 18. Following the Lightning playoff loss he improved to 16–0 with 16 saves in his last 16 games.

His biggest stop may have been the one he made on Ivan Demidov over the middle, though Montreal’s star rookie found a dead spot in defensive coverage and was alone in the slot.

This was a game the Lightning had to win – and Vasilevskiy made sure they did.

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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

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy did everything he could to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round series on Friday night at the Bell Centre. This was not enough.

Vasilevskiy denied three Montreal breakaways in regulation, but he never saw Montreal defenseman Len Hutson’s slap shot from the right point as it passed multiple bodies and into the net 2:08 into overtime to give the Canadiens a 3–2 win and a 2–1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Alexandre Texier, who opened the scoring early in the first period, flicked a shot back to Hutson, and the 2025 Calder Trophy winner produced a rocket that found its way through a half-dozen bodies and into the net.

Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel scored for the Lightning. Hagel’s goal early in the second period put Tampa Bay ahead 2–1, but Kirby Dach put the Canadiens even at 12:43. Vasilevskiy finished with 26 saves on 29 shots; Montreal rookie Jacob Dobbs faced only 17 shots and stopped 15.

This was the third consecutive overtime game in the series, the first for the Lightning since entering the NHL in 1992. The Canadiens had not gone to OT in three straight playoff games since Games 2, 3 and 4 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals – they won all three en route to their most recent championship. It was the first time that an NHL playoff series began with three straight overtime games since the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals did so in 2021.

The teams split OT wins in Games 1 and 2 at Benchmark International Arena, with the Canadiens winning 4–3 in the opener and Tampa Bay taking the series with a 3–2 win in Game 2. The Lightning have not won consecutive playoff games since the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers.

They will try to even the series on Sunday night in Montreal.

The sellout crowd of 20,962 was roaring from the moment Canadiens legend Yvan Cournoyer took the torch to lead Montreal onto the ice. This became even more intense when his heroes gained a quick lead.

Zach Bolduc moved the puck to the right circle and saw that Texier was late in the middle, with no Lightning defender there to pick him up. Bolduc fed a pass onto Texier’s stick for a perfect shot from the slot that took the top corner past Vasilevskiy’s glove at 4:53, giving Montreal the lead 1–0.

But this lead did not last long. Dobbs was called for fouling Yanni Gourde, and the Lightning capitalized at 7:42 when Point found space in the slot, took a pass from Jake Guentzel and one-timed it into the net for a 1–1 tie.

The Lightning got another power play 30 seconds after the goal when Dach was called for tripping but produced very little power. Montreal had a good chance after Nikita Kucherov took an unnecessary tripping penalty at 12:23, and the Lightning again failed to convert after Mike Matheson took a hooking penalty at 19:11.

Tampa Bay dominated the game for the first few minutes of the second period and led 2–1 at the 4:47 mark. Hagel picked up a pass from Jake Evans in the neutral zone, raced to the left circle and surprised Dobbs with a quick shot that beat him on the short side for his fourth goal of the series.

Vasilevsky maintained the lead just over a minute later by stopping Montreal rookie Ivan Demidov on a breakaway. Demidov, who led all NHL rookies with 62 points during the regular season, gave the Lightning their fourth power play at 9:59 when he carelessly high-sticked Ryan McDonagh, but Tampa Bay could not take advantage.

This set the stage for the Canadiens to even the score. Vasilevskiy blocked Dach from the slot, but the puck went along the right board. Dach tracked him down and fired through the maze of bodies; Vasilevskiy never saw the puck, which deflected off McDonagh and into the net at 12:43, making the score 2–2.

Tampa Bay spent most of the remaining period killing penalties. Hegel was called for holding a stick at 14:05, Emil Lilleberg was sent for hooking at 16:14 and Darren Raddish was called for a high-sticking minor at 19:29.

Montreal outshot the Bolts 13–7 in the middle period, and Tampa Bay did not have a single shot on goal until the final 13:25.

Vasilevskiy was the biggest reason the Lightning forced overtime despite being outshot 21-11 in the final two periods, including 8-4 in the third when he faced two more breakaways.

Cole Caufield, the 51-goal scorer during the regular season, came in alone at 3:29, but Vasilevskiy came out to challenge him, but was unsuccessful. Josh Anderson took a breakaway pass coming out of the penalty box midway through the period, but Vasilevskiy did not fake the pass and made a wrist save from his close range.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Bolts applied little pressure on Dobbs and had only three high-danger scoring chances over the course of 60 minutes. Hutson’s game-winner came on the only shot in overtime.

Key takeaways after Canadiens top Lightning in OT to win Game 3

wasting a precious gem

The Lightning couldn’t have asked for anything more from their future Hall of Fame goaltender. They did everything but stand on their heads as Hegel’s goal put them ahead 2–1, despite managing all five shots on goal.

Dach’s tying goal came after “Vesey” made a big stop on him – and as was the case with Hutson’s game-winner, No. 88 never saw the shot due to the series of bodies in front of him.

Tampa Bay did almost nothing offensively after the first five minutes of the second period and only the play of Vasilevskiy gave them a chance to win.

Hagel and linemates need help

The Lightning scored eight goals in the first three games of this series. Hagel has four of them, assisted on the fifth and has been on the ice for all eight. For good measure, he also became the first player in Lightning history to get a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal/assist/fighting major) in Game 2.

His goal in Game 3 was an unassisted gem, ending with a spectacular shot that completely caught Dobbs by surprise.

Hegel and his teammates, Guentzel (five points, all assists) and Nikita Kucherov (four points; one goal, three assists) each had 14 points. The other three in a row combined have three (point goal and two assists) by Anthony Cirelli in Game 2. This is not a formula for playoff success.

too much punishment

The Lightning’s penalty-killers could use the day off before Sunday’s game.

Tampa Bay did a great job of shutting down all four Montreal power plays in Game 3, including three in a span of just over five minutes in the second period. They limited the Canadiens to five shots on goal during four shutouts and were generally successful in keeping Montreal out. This was a huge change from earlier in the series, when the Lightning surrendered four power-play goals on the Canadiens’ first six opportunities.

But eight minutes of power-play time for the Canadiens meant Tampa Bay had to keep top offensive players like Kucherov on the bench. He played only 41 seconds over the course of 9:59 spanning the second and third periods – most of which Tampa Bay played down a man. Not having your top players in tie games is no way to be successful, especially in the playoffs.

Jon Krieger covered his first New York Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and it… More about Jon Krieger

The Tampa Bay Lightning have leveled their Eastern Conference first round series against the Montreal Canadiens after a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2 at Benchmark International Arena on Tuesday night.

Defenseman JJ Moser’s first career playoff goal sealed a one-point win in the series, with the next two games scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Bell Center in Montreal. The goal also ended Tampa Bay’s seven-game playoff losing streak in overtime games.

The Lightning dominated the extra period, defeating Montreal 8–0, before Anthony Cirelli scored on a pass in the offensive zone to the right of goalie Jacob Dobbs. Moser got the puck near the left point, worked his way around the right circle and fired through a screen. As the puck hit the back of the net at 12:48, the sellout crowd of 19,092 erupted and the series was tied.

Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov scored the other goals for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy bounced back from an average performance in Game 1 with 25 saves.

Lane Hutson scored a power-play goal in the first period and Josh Anderson scored late in the second period to put Montreal ahead 2–1. Dobbs made 31 saves.

The win at home was a relief for the Lightning, who were 1-10 in their last 11 playoff games in their own building. They lost to the Florida Panthers three times in the first round in each of the last two seasons before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023. The last time Tampa Bay went beyond Round 1 was in 2022, when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the finals while trying to win their third consecutive championship.

Lightning even series with OT win against Canadiens in Game 2

The Canadiens had the better of the game early on, holding the Lightning without a shot for more than eight minutes after an early face-off. But Bolt converted his first shot into the opening goal.

Hagel circled into the high slot and shot, but his shot hit a body and landed on the left board. He followed it up and fired again – but this time, the shot went through a screen and past Dobbs at 8:20 to put the Lightning up 1–0.

Tampa Bay got its first power play of the game at 10:11 when Montreal’s Arbor Zekaj got an extra minor after a clash with Yanni Gourde. But it was the Canadiens who almost scored; Vasilevskiy intercepted Jake Evans on a 2-on-1 break and the rebound bounced off the feet of Alex Newhook, who was alone but couldn’t get his stick on the puck.

Then it was the turn to fill the penalty box. A major scrum behind the Montreal net erupted on the Canadiens power play when referees Frederic L’Ecuyer and Graham Skilliter called out 11 minors – Lightning forward Corey Perry received an additional one.

Montreal made it 4-for-6 with an extra man in the series, when Hutson’s straight-up slapper from inside the blue line hit Lightning defenseman Eric Cernak and went past Vasilevskiy at 16:11.

The Canadiens could not score on their next power play after a cross-checking call against Nick Paul at 17:49 and the period ended even at 1–1.

Hegel and the Canadiens’ Game 1 hero Juraj Slafkowski dropped the gloves at 5:14 of the second period and earned the first fighting major of the series, with Hegel downing the much larger Montreal forward to end the fight.

The goaltenders exchanged clutch saves with just over six minutes remaining in the period, but the Canadiens began to get the better of the game and took the lead with 1:24 remaining in the period. Anderson, who had scored the opening goal in Game 1, arrived in front of the net and converted the pass to Philippe Danault, who won the puck battle behind the net. Anderson found position between two defenders and beat Vasilevskiy to give Montreal a 2–1 lead.

The Bolts equalized about five minutes into the third period when Moser beat Dobbs but hit the post. They got a power-play opportunity shortly after when Montreal’s Ivan Demidov was called for tripping but did not apply much pressure.

But Kucherov electrified the crowd when he took the carom of Cirelli’s blocked shot, swung into the back of the net and fired the puck inside the right post at 12:33 to tie the game at 2–2. It was the star forward’s first playoff goal in 17 games.

The Lightning had to survive one more threat to get overtime. After Scott Sabourin’s unnecessary interference penalty with 2:15 left in regulation gave Montreal a late power play, Hutson slapped a straight shot with less than a minute remaining that went off Vasilevskiy’s hand before hitting the post.

Dobbs was brilliant in overtime but had no chance for Moser’s game-winner.

Highlights after Lightning beat Canadiens 3-2 in OT

stars come for bolt

As the third period wore on and the Lightning trailed by a goal, you could have eased the tension with a knife. It wasn’t nice to think about going 0-2 in Montreal, especially after two more home losses.

But then some of Bolt’s stars saved the situation.

Kucherov had gone 16 playoff games without a goal since Game 1 of the 2023 first round against Toronto – before the game was tied. The NHL’s No. 2 scorer during the regular season looked like a giant eagle as he swooped in to grab the blocked shot, fly around the net and deposit the puck into the wide-open net because Dobbs couldn’t move from right to left in time.

Then it was Vasilevsky’s turn. After Sabourin’s penalty he made two big stops on Hutson to give the Canadiens a late power play to preserve the tie.

A “Gordie Howe” for Hegel.

This is the 18th time the Lightning are appearing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Hagel became the first player in franchise history to achieve a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal/assist/fighting major) in a postseason game.

The first period goal was his third in the first two games, and he got a secondary assist on Kucherov’s goal. There is nothing surprising in any of this.

This is the main theme of the fight which was out of the ordinary. Hagel only had two fighting majors during the regular season, despite playing on the NHL’s most fighting team – the Lightning led the NHL with 43 majors. He was also watching Slafkowski gain about 40 pounds. Despite this, he landed a punch, knocking out the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft before officials stopped the fight.

bang, bang

The series has only featured Hegel-Slafkowski fighting majors during the first two games, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of physicality.

There were 77 hits in Game 2 (43 for Montreal, 34 for the Lightning). This comes after 86 hits in Game 1 (44-42 lead for the Bolts). Tuesday’s game also saw 23 penalties, including two fights and 14 minor ones for roughing.

Lightning coach John Cooper said his team was stepped up physically after recent seasons, and said this was due to the development of players like Sabourin, who is known for his physical play.

“These are two proud teams,” Cooper said. “You have to do what you have to do to move forward. No matter how we do it, we’re going to do it.”

Jon Krieger covered his first New York Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and it… More about Jon Krieger

The Montreal Canadiens face the Tampa Bay Lightning in game two on Tuesday, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

The Habs emerged victorious in the first game of the series between these two talented teams, with young star Juraj Slafkowski serving as the hero. Not only did he score three goals, all three of which occurred during the power play, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime, shortly after head coach Martin Saint-Louis called a time-out to maximize the potential impact of the power play.

Beyond Slafkowski, it should also be noted that the Canadiens held a significant edge in high-danger scoring chances at 5v5 to the extent of 8-1.

Special teams will always play a big role in a short playoff series, and ideally the Habs will improve their shot share, but if they can maintain 88% control of high-quality scoring chances the rest of the game, they’ll be in great position.

Lineup Changes

The Habs are not expected to make any changes to the lineup, but the same can’t be said for the Lightning.

Defenseman Charles-Edouard D’Estous, who goes out of his way to play a particularly physical brand of hockey any time he faces the Habs, is unavailable due to a clean hit that knocked him out of Game One. As a result, Declan Carlyle will be included in the lineup again.

Carlile was the player who chased down Josh Anderson in the previous match, before Anderson proceeded to deliver a five-piece combination to his over-eager opponent.

“I immediately regret this decision!” – Carlyle after chasing Anderson to fight. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/bCbRjR1nRA

– Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) 10 April 2026

Lightning head coach John Cooper will also add another adventurous player to the mix, depth forward Scott Sabourin. He may not be much of a forward when it comes to playing hockey, but he’s certainly one of the few players in the league who will offer heavyweight match-ups.

Unfortunately for Sabourin, the last time he faced the Habs he was unceremoniously ejected by defenseman Arbor Czekaj, with the Habs defenseman immediately calling an assistant from the Lightning medical staff to evaluate the fallen gladiator.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Cole Coffield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkowski

Alexandre Texier – Alex Newhook – Ivan Demidov

Zachary Bolduc-Oliver Kapanen-Kirby Dach

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

Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nikita Kucherov

Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Gage Goncalves

Zemgus Girgenson – Yanni Gourde – Nick Paul

Corey Perry – Oliver Bjorkstrand – 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 Tuesday, April 21, 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

Juraj Slachowski showed why Montreal selected him No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, completing his first playoff hat-trick by scoring a power-play goal 1:22 into overtime, leading the Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opener of their Eastern Conference First Round series on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena.

Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel took a high-sticking penalty with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, and Slafkowski made him pay with his third power-play goal of the game. Lane Huston played a pass to Slafkovsky as he went to the left circle and the 22-year-old beat goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy to wrap up the win.

It wasn’t a great night for Vasilevskiy, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Bolts. He allowed four goals on 19 shots and rarely looked like the goaltender who excelled when the Bolts won Cup in 2020 and 2021. Montreal rookie Jacob Dobbs made 20 saves.

The Canadiens lead the series 1-0, with Game 2 being played on Tuesday night in Tampa.

Slafkowski’s first power-play goal tied the game at the end of the second period, and his second goal gave the Canadiens a brief 3–2 lead in the third. Josh Anderson opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period.

Brandon Hagel scored twice for Tampa Bay after defenseman Darren Radish tied the game at 1–1 early in the second period.

The Lightning had their first good scoring chance of the game when Eric Cernak found himself alone in the slot, but Dobbs came well out of his net to narrow the angle and make the save.

The Canadiens missed a pair of 2-on-1 opportunities after the Lightning called too many people at 10:37 and failed to capitalize on their first power play. But thanks to some good work from their fourth line they went 1–0 up at 13:24.

Alexandre Carrier worked the puck free behind the net and inserted a pass into the slot, where Anderson quickly put it into the net at 13:24 to put the Canadiens ahead. Vasilevskiy appeared to lose track of the puck and the Lightning defense did the same to Andersen, one of the few Montreal players left in the Canadiens’ five-game loss to the Bolts in the 2021 finals.

Montreal spent most of the remaining period killing penalties. Tampa Bay played 4:13 of the final 5:23 with an extra man in the opening period, but did not get much offense. Despite falling behind 10-4, the Canadiens took the lead with a one-goal lead.

Neither team led much in the first half of the second period, but at 10:43 the Canadiens were looking to double their lead when Anderson stepped up and drilled a point shot into the net. However, a video review showed that Anderson’s stick was slightly above the crossbar, and the goal was disallowed.

Anderson was called for charging 12 seconds later, and the Lightning took advantage of their fifth power play to tie the score. Radish evened it up at 12:15 when he took an accurate feed from Nikita Kucherov and one-timed it past Dobbs from inside the left circle at 12:15 to tie the game at 1–1.

This match lasted only 29 seconds. The Canadiens misplayed the puck behind their own net, and Guentzel slipped a pass off a defender’s stick that came straight to Hegel, whose quick backhander from out of the blue beat Dobbs at 12:49. In just over two minutes, the Canadiens went from an apparent 2-0 lead to an actual 2-1 deficit.

It seemed as if this period might end just like this. Montreal managed only one shot on goal until Tampa Bay’s Connor Geikie took an unnecessary high-stick penalty with 1:28 remaining. Vasilevskiy made some great saves, but had no chance on Slafkovsky’s one-timer from inside the right circle, tying the game 2–2 at 19:36.

Each team scored another power-play goal before reaching the midpoint of the third period. Slafkowski found some space in bumper situations and converted a perfect pass from Cole Caufield at 5:56 to give Montreal a 3–2 lead. But Hagel tied it at 8:58 when he extended his shot in front of the net and redirected Guentzel’s pass past Dobbs.

The game was tied 3–3 in overtime – but not before Guentzel took a high-sticking penalty at 19:39 when he tried to put an airborne puck into the net but missed and hit Canadiens defenseman Caden Guhle in the face, leading to Slafkowski’s OT winner.

Key takeaways after Canadiens outlast Lightning in OT to win Game 1

Slafkowski’s next step

When the Canadiens made Slafkowski the first player taken in 2022, a lot of eyes were raised. He is quick to erase any questions about choice.

Slafkowski became the first Montreal player to score a power-play goal in overtime since PK Subban did so in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Boston Bruins in 2014. It is the first playoff hat trick by a Canadian since Rene Bourque scored a goal against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals.

The hat trick followed a regular season in which he set career highs with 30 goals and 73 points. He led the Canadiens with 15 power-play goals and when he scored one the Canadiens’ score was 22–3–1.

Unsettled night for Vasilevsky

When he calls it a career, “Vesey” becomes a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame. He has won the Stanley Cup twice, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP (2021), and the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender (2018–19). He has started 113 consecutive playoff games for the Lightning, and his 67 playoff wins are 12th all-time.

But Vasilevskiy wasn’t sharp on Sunday. The TNT studio crew noted this after Anderson’s first-period goal, and he was not sharp for most of the night, failing to make big saves when the Lightning needed it most.

Vasilevskiy’s career goals-against average in the playoffs is 2.46 — but it has been 3.22 or worse in each of the past three seasons, a big reason the Bolts have not advanced beyond the first round since reaching the final in 2022. If the Lightning hope to avoid a fourth consecutive early departure, they need to be much better.

No home-ice advantage in OT for the Lightning

The Lightning sell out East Amaali Arena every night and have done so for every game since COVID restrictions ended. But playing at home doesn’t help when it comes to overtime in the playoffs.

Slafkowski’s game-winner handed the Lightning their seventh consecutive overtime loss in the playoffs. Overall, they are 9-13 in their own building, while they are 14-8 when they have visitors. Tampa Bay has not won a playoff game in home OT since defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 on May 12, 2022.

Jon Krieger covered his first New York Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and it… More about Jon Krieger

We continue our series preview ahead of the first round matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning.

We know that the team that wins the battle at 5v5 will have a good chance of emerging victorious in the series. Additionally, the organization that features the best special teams will have a significant advantage in securing victory.

In addition to those important elements, let’s take a look at some X-factors that will impact the series between the Canadiens and Lightning.

top line players

It’s no secret that Canadians will live and die by the first line’s ability to generate sustainable levels of crime. The Lightning are well aware of this, which means Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkowski and Cole Caufield will likely have to face Tampa Bay’s top shutdown line of Gourde, Pontus Holmberg and Zemgus Girgensons.

When playing together, that line has controlled approximately 54.5% of shots, as well as 55.7% of expected goals at 5v5. In an admittedly limited sample size of just 30 minutes versus the Habs, they have actually controlled over 70% of the shots and 90% of the expected goals.

In a short series, matchups will play a key role, and it seems the most important matchup for the Canadiens will involve Tampa’s excellent shutdown trio versus their elite top line. Or perhaps more accurately, finding ways to strip their top line of the Lightning’s best defensive players.

On the other side of the coin, this may seem like the most obvious advice in the history of hockey, but the Canadiens would do well to help their chances by keeping a close eye on Nikita Kucherov.

The elite skater finished the year with 130 points, which was second overall in the NHL, behind only Connor McDavid (138 points). The second most productive Lightning player was Jake Guentzel, who finished the season with 88 points. This represents a 42-point discrepancy, significantly greater than the 13-point difference between the Canadiens’ top point producer (Suzuki, 101 points) and last forward (Caufield, 88 points).

It’s very easy to suggest that shutting down Kucherov is important for the Habs, especially when neither team has yet figured out how to accomplish this lofty goal, but the fact is that the Canadiens will want to keep an eye on Kucherov’s every move throughout the series.

In 42 career games against the Habs, Kucherov has scored 20 goals and added 29 assists.

Freshman Goaltenders

It is incredibly rare to see two rookie netminders tasked with protecting the net in a playoff series. First-year skaters are slightly more common, as it is much easier to convince a coach to enter the playoffs with a few rookie players than a pair of rookie netminders.

The Canadiens will have to rely on either Jacob Dobbs or Jacob Fowler to steal the show, although there’s still an outside chance, albeit slim, that we’ll see veteran netminder Samuel Montebault in the mix.

the gamble was thrown.

This could be seen as an obvious negative given Dobbs and Fowler’s lack of NHL experience, but the Montreal Canadiens aren’t your favorite club. While first-year players playing a significant role isn’t more common than in other NHL cities, it’s part of the path to success in Montreal.

In the long run, this could be the beginning of a trend in the NHL where goaltending results completely usurp experience as the most important factor driving usage in the playoffs.

rookie effect

Fowler and Dobbs aren’t the only newbies expected to play a role in the series. Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen are expected to take over on the second line, once again lending credence to the theory that head coach Martin Saint-Louis does a great job trusting his young players in key roles.

On top of Demidov Kapanen, there are Adam Engstrom and David Rickenbacker on the blue line, two rookies who could play with greater frequency if injuries occur, or if Noah Dobson’s thumb injury doesn’t heal before more games are added to the docket.

To give you an idea of ​​how both teams like to rely on different age groups, Tampa Bay’s top-scoring rookie center is Dominic James, who has seven goals and eight assists in 43 games.

Montreal, on the other hand, has the league’s top-scoring rookie in Demidov (62 points), not to mention the rookie with the third-most goals in Kapanen (22 points).

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

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

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, stories and content you may have missed on Wednesday.

montreal canadiens news

There is no doubt, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the better team at 5v5 this season. However, when the numbers between Montreal and the Lightning are evaluated against each other in their four games, the discrepancy is less noticeable, with the Canadiens managing to control more shots than the Bolts. [Playoff Preview: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Head-To-Head]

The Laval Rocket have lost some key players to the Habs this year, making reinforcements necessary. Luckily, Vinzenz Rohrer is on his way to joining the Rockets, and will participate in his first practice with the team on Friday. The Rockets are in first place in the North Division with two games left to play in the regular season.

The Canadiens have loaned forward Vincenzo Rohrer to the Laval Rocket.

The Canadiens have re-assigned forward Vincenzo Rohrer to the Laval Rocket. pic.twitter.com/tq76w7s933

– X – Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) 15 April 2026

Two goaltending prospects have entered the NCAA transfer portal, meaning they are looking for a new school for the 2026-27 season. Alexis Cournoyer is moving on from Cornell, while Quentin Miller will no longer play for the University of Denver. Considering that John Hicks came out of nowhere and had a surprisingly great season in Denver (.957 save percentage), Miller’s decision makes a lot of sense. As for Cournoyer, he’s probably hoping to land with a team that has championship aspirations.

Alexis Cournoyer (Cornell) and Quentin Miller (Denver) have entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Both #GoHabsGo The netminders have looked pretty good so far in college. .916 and .915 SV% respectively.

This transfer window has been very strange.

– Hadi Kalakeche (@HadiK_Scouting) 15 April 2026

I have to say that it’s quite interesting that the Canadiens are heading into the playoffs without having many questions answered about their second line. I’ve been as critical of Oliver Kapanen as anyone could be, but in the long run, he is the player who has managed to take advantage of Ivan Demidov’s excellent play more often than anyone else. A bird in hand…

Who should play with Ivan Demidov on the second line against the Tampa Bay Lightning?#GoHabsGo #DasikPodcast @tonymarinaro @StuCowan1 pic.twitter.com/GxOwOplAss

– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) 15 April 2026

Sportsknot Network

The search for the next general manager of the New Jersey Devils is in full swing. Devils ownership and their search committee have begun interviewing candidates as soon as this week for the vacant GM job left by Tom Fitzgerald following what was described as a “mutual breakup.” [New Jersey Devils]

The game between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders had some upsets, but most of them occurred before the puck dropped at UBS Arena. [Carolina Hurricanes]

The Detroit Red Wings have some big decisions to make ahead of the 2026 NHL offseason. Despite scoring the most points (92) in a season since 2016, the Red Wings would not participate in the playoffs. [Detroit Red Wings]

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 Montreal Canadiens will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2026 NHL playoffs, a repeat of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.

Of course, a lot has changed between then and now, especially for hubs. They are the youngest team in the league, and will face a much older Lightning lineup that is loaded with playoff experience.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some important stats that will play a big role in deciding the winner of this first round series. We’ll start with 5v5 numbers before moving on to special teams in the following analysis piece.

Canadiens and Lightning at 5v5

To get a better idea of ​​which teams are expected to maintain the momentum, we can take a closer look at three specific team-driven statistics.

The first is shot share, which is the percentage of shots a team controls in a given period. This is often represented as ‘Corsi For %’, or ‘CF%’. I prefer to use the term shot share, because it is straightforward.

For example: If there are 10 shots in a period, and a team controls eight of them, they will have an 80% shot share. If there were 100 shots in a game and a team generated 40 of them, their shot share would be 40%.

As you can see in the chart below, the Lightning did a great job at controlling shots throughout the season, and finished with the third-highest shot share in the NHL. The Canadiens are on the other end of the spectrum, controlling just 48.6% of their shots, good for 23rd in the league.

Expected goal share takes into account certain factors including shot quality, shot location and shot type. A deflected shot will have a better chance of scoring than an unblocked shot from the point, so it will have a higher expected goal value.

The Canadiens control the same expected goals percentage as their shot share, not to mention a similar ranking of 23rd in the league. The Lightning do a much better job in this regard, and they find themselves in the top-5 teams in the NHL when it comes to their expected goal share.

Once again the Lightning found themselves several times ahead of the Canadiens as far as high-danger shot share goes. The lack of high-danger scoring opportunities has been an ongoing issue for the Habs since the rebuild began nearly five years ago.

Goaltending and shooting

The Lightning goaltenders do a better job than their Canadiens counterparts, though it should be noted that the numbers include the results produced by Samuel Montembeault, a netminder who is unlikely to feature as a starter against Tampa Bay.

Despite this, it is clear that the Lightning have the goalscoring advantage at 5v5, especially when it comes to blocking high-danger shots.

As far as shooting efficiency goes, you’ll notice that the Canadiens actually managed to edge out the Lightning, as they were the team with the highest shooting percentage at 5v5 in the entire league. I suggest this is not necessarily a good sign, as a low-volume, high-efficiency team runs the risk of being vulnerable in a short series, especially if some of the team’s best snipers can’t find their rhythm.

That being said, at the very least, you could argue that the Habs have slightly better accuracy, although the Lightning rank first in the NHL when it comes to their high-danger shooting percentage, which mitigates the Canadiens’ advantage in the shooting department.

Target

The final numbers we’ll evaluate are simple, and provide little consolation to Habs fans who are hoping to see an upset, with the emphasis on ‘slightly’.

Both the Canadiens and Lightning are great at scoring goals, with the latter being better at preventing pucks from getting into their net.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

Of course, the numbers don’t paint an encouraging picture for Canadians. For all intents and purposes, they are disenfranchised, and substantially disenfranchised.

John Cooper is likely to advocate his way through a speech that somehow portrays the Canadiens as favourites, but make no mistake, there is little in the numbers to suggest that the Lightning should be considered anything other than massive favorites to win the first-round series.

It’s also important to remember that hockey isn’t played on spreadsheets, and the Canadiens have a funny way of making the numbers appear irrelevant after the final whistle.

The playoffs are a different kind of beast, where passion can trump logic.

Apart from this, there are other statistics that paint a different picture of the upcoming match.

If we filter out the results of the four games in which the Canadiens and Bolts faced off, the numbers are more encouraging. Each team won two games, with the Habs victorious in the final two meetings of the season.

Canadiens vs Lightning Head to Head (5v5)

As you can see, the Montreal Canadiens actually held a pretty significant advantage in shot share across the four games against the Lightning. In fact, Tampa Bay controlled only 47.2% of its shots, one of the worst results of any opponent in a season series versus Montreal.

On the other side of the coin, as usual, the Canadians failed miserably when it came to controlling high-danger shots.

Interestingly, the Lightning received better goaltending and better shooting, including saves and goals on high-danger shots.

Simply put, they capitalized on their opportunities with a much greater frequency than the Habs, while outpacing a team that has struggled to generate many shots all season. This doesn’t mean the Montreal Canadiens will sweep the Lightning every game, but it’s certainly a situation worth keeping in mind as we await puck drop in Game One of the first-round series.

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

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

From time to time, the schedule makers get a team into trouble, so to speak. That’s been the case for the Senators in their last two games. Yes, they come up against two of the best teams in the league, the Hurricanes and Lightning. Fortunately, both of these teams got to travel to Ottawa to play their second game of a back-to-back situation.

To the Senators’ credit, they played both games well. They competed against these strong teams in the beginning and then took advantage of these tired teams late on. They won 6-3 against the Hurricanes on Sunday, and won tonight against the Lightning by a score of 6-2. Let’s get into the details, focusing on the three best Senators who were great tonight.

Read more: It’s time to rally around Brady Tkachuk

Tim Stutzle

Stützle scored a big goal on the power play in the third period to put the Senators up 4-2. He also added two assistants. This was a game when he scored one of his best goals of the season against the Hurricanes on an incredible effort the length of the ice. With three points tonight, Stützle is guaranteed at least one point per game on the season, as he has 82 points after four games played.

jake sanderson

Sanderson scored two spectacular goals tonight, both using his skating ability to force the puck into the net. Keep in mind, Sanderson is a defenseman. This gave Sanderson a career high of 13 goals, surpassing his previous best of 11 goals set last season. He also had 51 points, making it the second consecutive season he has scored more than 50 points. This makes Sanderson the second defenseman in Senators history to score at least 50 points in multiple seasons. Eric Karlsson did this six times.

brady tkachuk

Tkachuk recorded a career-high four assists tonight. This gives Tkachuk six points from his last two matches. This takes Tkachuk to 58 points in 58 games. Tkachuk’s season was ruined early on due to a hand injury, which caused him to miss 20 games. For him to be at a point per game now and reach 60 points despite all the missed time shows you how good he is, and how well he’s been playing in recent weeks.

additional comments

Congratulations to Cam Crotty on his first NHL point. In his four games with the Senators, he has been solid, averaging over 14 minutes of ice-time per game. With two points tonight, Drake Batherson tied his career high of 68 points last season. Jordan Spence played over 22 minutes tonight and scored a nice goal. In my opinion, now is the time to re-sign him. Linus Ullmark had a strong performance tonight, saving 27 shots. To his credit, he has started each of the last five Senators games. Next up for the Sens is a Thursday night game against the Panthers.

Danny was born and raised in Ottawa and still lives in that city. He has followed… more about Danny McCloskey

The Montreal Canadiens (42-21-10) face the Tampa Bay Lightning (46-21-6) on Tuesday night, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

This will be the third time these two teams will face each other, with the Lightning having won both the previous matches. Montreal lost 6–1 in early December, and while the Habs offered a much better effort in the next meeting, they still dropped a 5–4 decision in late December.

Simply put, Tampa Bay is the type of team that fits Montreal. As things stand, if the playoffs started today, the Canadiens would face the Buffalo Sabres, but there’s also a good chance they would face the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, depending on how the final stretch of the season unfolds.

Lineup Changes

Jacob Dobbs is set to start against Tampa Bay, and will be aiming to win his fourth game in a row, a continuation of the excellent results that led to him being named the first Star of the Week in the NHL.

As for the rest of the lineup, the Habs announced that defenseman Alex Carrier will miss between two to four weeks due to an upper body injury, which explains why they recalled Adam Engstrom from the Laval Rocket (AHL).

Engstrom, 24, can play on the left or right side, and is clearly Laval’s most productive defender. He’s also the most NHL-ready player on the farm, and calling up David Rickenbacker would have been interesting, but throwing anyone to the wolves at this point in the NHL season is foolish. Ultimately Rickenbacker’s time will come.

That being said, Engstrom is not expected to play on Tuesday. Instead, Arbor Zekaj practiced with Caden Guhle, giving us a pretty good indication of the potential defensive pairing, and ending his one-game experiment as a fourth-line forward.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Cole Coffield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkowski

Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov

Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson

Joe Veleno – Philip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson

Caden Guhle – Arbor Zekaj*

Jaden Struble- Lane Hutson

jacob dobbs

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lineup

Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nikita Kucherov

Gage Goncalves – Brayden Point – Jake Guentzel

Zemgus Girgensons – Yanni Gourde – Pontus Holmberg

Corey Perry – Nick Paul – Oliver Bjorkstrand

Darren Radish – JJ Moser

Ryan McDonagh – Eric Cernak

Emile Lilleberg – Charles-Edouard d’Estous

Andrei Vasilevsky

How to watch Hubs Vs. bolt

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, to air on RDS and TSN2. A quick recap with highlights will be available on SportsNote once the final whistle blows.

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 Vancouver Canucks lost 6-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Arena on Thursday night, and the game got away from them long before the final horn.

Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli each finished with a goal and two assists, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves as Tampa Bay took control for most of the night.

The Lightning looked to be sharper after a rough outing and quickly hit the nail on the head. Tampa Bay began a four-game road trip by winning its second consecutive game, and its top line of Brandon Hagel, Cirelli and Kucherov combined to finish plus-11 for eight points.

When a team is on the rise, that kind of lead is very difficult to handle. It was too much for the Canucks, who were trying to win consecutive home games for the first time this season.

You can tell when a game is going away from a team, and it has become increasingly slippery for the Canucks. The team only trailed 1-0 after the first period, but there wasn’t much room to breathe and once Tampa Bay hit the gas in the second, it became a very long night.

At 17:37 of the first, Jake Guentzel opened the scoring with a deflection into the slot of a Charles-Edouard d’Astous point shot. Then the flood came. Darren Reddish made it 2–0 just 49 seconds into the second minute, Yanni Gourde added the second goal at 4:16, and Kucherov made it 4–0 at 5:31 when his shot bounced off Filip Hronek near the crease.

a push that couldn’t last

Liam Ohgren gave the Canucks a little life with a quick goal from the middle of the circle at 12:06 of the second. Linus Karlsson added another by batting a rebound out of the air at 7:04 of the third minute after a strong chance by Marco Rossi.

For a moment, despite trailing 4-2, it seemed like maybe the Canucks had finally reassembled the building. Faith that could barely last for a moment.

Just 32 seconds later, Cirelli restored the three-goal lead at 7:36 when a pass from Brandon Hagel bounced off his skate at the top of the crease. Hagel then scored at 10:35 to close the score at 6-2.

Those last two goals destroyed whatever suspense was left and leveled it.

Difficult lesson, familiar feeling

Marco Rossi did his part with two assists, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 24 shots, but it was one of those nights when the gaps were visible.

NHL.com reports that after going 4-18-4 in their last 26 games, the Canucks are now 3-3-1 in their last seven games, which tells you this team has settled down a bit recently, but there’s still a long way to go.

Even the most die-hard Canucks fan will admit that Tampa Bay was cleaner, faster and more direct.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game, it was expected that the Carolina Hurricanes could have a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lead the league in penalty minutes. However, what may not have been on many people’s bingo card was Seth Jarvis recording the first NHL fight of his career.

It happened the same night that his mother, Tracy Jarvis, read out the starting lineup in the dressing room for the Hurricanes’ biennial mothers’ visit.

Before the gloves hit the cold hard ice, Sebastian Aho was first on him after checking Zemgus Girgensons on the bench-side of the ice in the neutral zone. Although the hit was clean, it was not one that Hurricane liked – especially his classmate Jarvis. Without any delay, Jarvis grabbed Girgenson and took off the gloves. The fight lasted only eight seconds, and his opponent had the upper hand – with nine fights in his own NHL career – but the fire to get it done spoke volumes for the Hurricanes right wing.

“It wasn’t a bad hit,” Jarvis said during the first intermission interview. “But I felt it was something I didn’t like.

“Whenever I see one of my teammates – one of my family – I take advantage of that. I thought there’s no better time than trying to fight with my mom in the stands… It’s definitely not something I’m used to, but it’s something I’m willing to do for my teammates.”

WATCH: Seth Jarvis defends Sebastian Aho, drops gloves with Zemgus Girgensons

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

On Saturday morning, the Carolina Hurricanes were on the ice at Invisalign Arena. Since Tuesday – when the league allowed skating to resume after a twelve-day break – the Hurricanes have already held four practices.

Notably, Eric Robinson returned to the yellow non-contact sweater during those practices. However, on Saturday, the Hurricanes’ speedy fourth-line winger ditched the yellow jersey for a San Jose Sharks-esque teal sweater with a ‘Property of Carolina’ crest.

It’s unknown what the teal sweater represents – but it’s not yellow, which is a good sign. After practice, head coach Rod Brind’Amour discussed Robinson’s possible availability for Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I think he would be a good choice,” he told the media. “I mean, we’re not rushing it. …At this point, it looks like he’s trending toward being ready to go.”

Robinson suffered an upper-body injury on January 19 during a matinee game against the Buffalo Sabres. Early in the game, Rasmus Dahlin threw a high-speed hip-check at him while he was stationary near the Sabers net. As he came back from the ice, he was seen holding his left shoulder and immediately left the game.

His first day back on the ice was Tuesday and he has remained as an extra forward during practice since.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay