The NHL has revealed when the first-round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning will begin.

According to a social media post published by the NHL’s public relations account, Game One of the first-round series featuring the Canadiens and Lightning is scheduled for Sunday, April 19.

With that in mind, series between the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes, the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars and the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins begin on Saturday, April 18.

There will be three other series joining the Canadiens on Sunday: Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres, and Utah Mammoth vs. Vegas Golden Knights. Unfortunately, despite knowing that games will take place on Sunday, the NHL has yet to confirm an exact start time.

Given that there are still two series to be determined due to the remaining games in the regular season scheduled for Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche’s official opponent has yet to be revealed, while the participants in the Western Conference Finals series have yet to be determined. All things considered, this is a pretty chaotic finale to the NHL regular season. In most years, teams can begin setting up their plans for the playoffs more than 48 hours before they expect to host thousands of fans.

2026 #Stanley Cup Playoffs start Saturday!

There is only one guarantee this year: there will be a new champion.

turn on @ESPN, @NHL_On_TNT, @sportsnet And @TVASports. The full schedule will be announced tonight after all first-round matchups have been determined.

Description:… pic.twitter.com/rPW1og9c3w

– NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) 16 April 2026

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

We can expect the NHL to play with a normal schedule, which means the first two home playoff games at the Bell Center should take place on Thursday and Saturday.

Of course, they have actually modified the usual alternate schedule in the past, but if my memory serves, that was only when the Toronto Maple Leafs were involved, which means we should finally be able to celebrate a home game on a Saturday at the Bell Center for the first time in many years.

There’s no better hockey in the NHL than springtime hockey at the best arena on Earth.

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

“Sunday Night Football” on NBC is definitely the most popular game every week during the NFL season. Led by Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth, the primetime slot features the sport’s premier matchups on the football field. However, can NBC Sports lose Sunday Night Football to another competitor in the NFL?

NBC is “at risk” of losing its Sunday Night Football package amid rising prices for NFL broadcast rights, John Aurand reports. Netflix is ​​”inspired to offer the sun and the moon” for Sunday night games if NBC is ever in danger of losing the primetime slot.

If Netflix ever acquired the NFL rights package, it would be the second weekly primetime slot the streaming platform is after. Amazon Prime Video acquired a “Thursday Night Football” package in 2021, which will air games during the 2022–23 NFL season.

As of now, Netflix only has NFL games on Christmas, starting in 2024. The 2026–27 NFL season is the last year of his deal with the game. Meanwhile, the NFL’s current media rights deals run through the 2033 season, but the league has a contractual opt-out clause to end them early after the 2029 season.

So, if Netflix wants to participate in Sunday Night Football, it probably won’t be possible until 2030. The NFL will likely opt to renegotiate contracts through the 2033 season. The game announced its current blockbuster 11-year media rights deals on March 18, 2021.

NFL fans love watching Sunday night games on NBC, but the network may be in danger of losing it to streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Sunday Night Football is the NFL’s biggest game of the week, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see a bidding war.

READ MORE: NFL Insider predicts surprise Browns starter for 2026 – it’s Deshaun Watson

Austin Konensky is a writer at SportsNut, covering the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA and more. His work can also…more about Austin Konensky

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the fifth points race of the season. After an exciting race at Phoenix, expectations are relatively high for what the Pennzoil 400 might yield on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s take a look at our NASCAR predictions for the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday.

William Byron is pole winner in Las Vegas

Hendrick Motorsports comes to Las Vegas hoping to change things. In 2026, the team does not have a single stage win or pole to its name. Things need to change this weekend, and we believe that will happen starting on Saturday thanks to William Byron and the No. 24 team. Byron has the second-best average starting position (5.2) in Las Vegas since the 2023 season, with some of his best starts coming in the spring races. Hendrick would lead the driver grid for the Pennzoil 400, with Byron and Kyle Larson qualifying first and second respectively.

RELATED: NASCAR Power Rankings 2026, 10 best NASCAR drivers entering Las Vegas

Ross Chastain is Stage 1 winner in Las Vegas

Unfortunately for Ross Chastain and the No. 1 team, they are now in a slightly more dire spot on points. A crash at Phoenix last weekend and a blown tire at COTA resulted in only 23 combined points in the last two races, dropping him to 23rd in the standings. Luckily, Chastain has a great history at this track, as evidenced by her 9.3 average finishing position since 2023, which ranks second among active drivers. He has also performed particularly well in the spring, with a Stage 1 win in 2022 and at least a top-3 stage result in 2025 and twice in 2023. Chastain would get 10 points heading into Sunday with a Stage 1 win.

RELATED: NASCAR Odds Las Vegas, 4 Picks for Pennzoil 400

Christopher Bell wins Stage 2

Christopher Bell is having his best performance of the season, which is saying something, as he finished third at COTA. The No. 20 was the fastest car on the track last Sunday and while the conditions are different at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this is a track where Bell has an average finishing position of 9.5 (third in the Cup Series), with four top-5 finishes and a remarkable average starting position of 6.3 since 2023. He won Stage 2 in October 2024 and finished in the top-five of both stages during the spring race in 2023. We are predicting a Stage 2 win for the No. 20 team on Sunday.

RELATED: NASCAR weekend schedule Las Vegas

Daniel Suarez made it to the top-10

In a year of make or break for Daniel Suarez, he is making the most of his opportunities behind the wheel of the No. 7 car for Spire Motorsports. He finished 13th at Daytona and then fifth at Atlanta, and two weeks later he qualified fourth at Phoenix. While he had finished 30th the previous Sunday, this result came as he was racing at the front of the field when his car crashed. Suarez now heads to Las Vegas, a track where he has recorded three top-10 finishes in his last six starts, and he finished second in the spring race last season. We’re calling for a top 10 finish for Suarez at the Pennzoil 400.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series Entry List Las Vegas 2026

Kyle Larson wins the Pennzoil 400

It’s time for Hendrick Motorsports to get to victory lane for the first time this season. It would be fitting for Kyle Larson to do so at a track where he has won three times, including consecutive races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (October 2023 and March 2024). It’s also worth noting that with 568 laps led, Larson has led more than twice as many laps since the spring race in 2023 as the next closest driver, William Byron (258). Larson is coming off Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 win at Las Vegas, giving Hendrick his first win of 2026.

Read more: Best NASCAR races 2026, ranking every Cup Series race this season

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

Barcelona have been given the ‘green light’ to sign Norwich City youngster Ajay Tavares. He is scheduled to fly to Barcelona on Sunday.

This is according to the sport. The Spanish newspaper reports that the deal is now ‘close’ for the youngster to join Barcelona.

According to their information, Norwich City have given the 16-year-old permission to travel to Barcelona. ‘Several weeks of processes’ are followed to resolve the transfer. ‘Bureaucratic problems’ had halted Barcelona’s deal for the highly rated young player.

However, they are now history and Tavares will fly to Barcelona on Sunday before undergoing a medical on Monday. He plans to join his training at the Camp Nou mid-next week.

norwich city green light

Tavares’ move to Barcelona has been ‘practically finalized’ for some time. Actually, Sport Witness covered a report In December it was said that the deal had been done.

It was said in a report in January Barcelona was on the verge of completing it.

This was raised again in another report this week, which suggested that it was Determined to complete the deal. The same has happened now.

According to Sport, officials have now completed the remaining ‘administrative details’, which will allow the deal to proceed without any hindrances. As a result, Tavares is set to fly to Barcelona on Sunday ahead of a medical on Monday.

FIFA allows

Under FIFA rules, Tavares must wait until he turns 18, but his Portuguese passport allows him to transfer from Norwich now. They still needed FIFA approval, which they have now received, giving them the green light to travel to Barcelona immediately.

He is one of a number of talents targeted by Barcelona as they look to strengthen their academy prospects. Hamza Abdelkarim and Joaquin Delgado also joined in the January transfer window.

They are keen to support the youth in the future and Tavares is the latest signing on that mission. Now, with no problems in the way, he can take the final steps on Monday before starting his integration with the Blaugrana.