2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 1: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
Start time: **5:45 PM EDT / 2:45 PM PDT** In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French) In the United States: TNT, truTV In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: HBO Max , Sportsnet+
After 82 games, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning each had 106 points, ranking fifth and sixth in the overall NHL standings. Their reward for such impressiv...
Matt Drake, Jared Book, and Patrik Bexell join the podcast for a round table ahead of the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens. The first thing that is being discussed is the physicality of the series and the fact that Montreal looks to be in a better position to handle it this season compared to last season’s series against the Washington Capitals.
One of the key themes early in the podcast was the uncertainty around Victor Hedma...
Game One: Montreal Canadiens (0-0) at Tampa Bay Lightning (0-0)
Time: 5:45 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, Florida
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, TNT, HBOMax, TruTV, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -185
Know the Opponents: Habs Eyes on the Prize
The previews are done . We’ve talked all we can on how we think this series is going to go, and now it’s time for the action on the ice. After a long, fairly successful season that had a f...
COLORADO AVALANCHE vs. LOS ANGELES KINGS
WHEN: 3 p.m. ET
WHERE: Ball Arena – Denver, NC
SEASON SERIES: Colorado won 3-0
ON THE TUBE: TNT
PROJECTED STARTERS: Avalanche: Blackwood (23-10-2 .904 / 2.51 3SO) Kings: Kuemper (19-14-15 .891 / 2.78 3SO)
PLAYER STATS: Colorado / Los Angeles
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING vs. MONTREAL CANADIENS
WHEN: 5:45 p.m. ET
WHERE: Benchmark International Arena – Tampa, FL
SEASON SERIES: Tied 2-2
ON THE T...
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 1: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
Start time: **5:45 PM EDT / 2:45 PM PDT** In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French) In the United States: TNT, truTV In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: HBO Max , Sportsnet+
After a rough start to the 2024-25 season, the Canadiens had to exhaust their energy reserves over the final third of the season just to make the playoffs. It took winni...
The Montreal Canadiens secured their playoff spot relatively early this season after needing a win in the final game in 2024-25 to punch their ticket. They separated themselves from the wild-card pack during an eight-game winning streak, and were tied for top spot in the Atlantic Division as late as April 12.
Despite going into the post-season playing on the road as a divisional third seed, the Canadiens ended up sixth overall in the league standings. Five of the top nine clubs were from ...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
“Today is Friday, then it will be Saturday, and the game will be on Sunday,” Jakub Dobeš shared as he tries to keep himself calm for the opening game of the playoffs. [ La Presse | Canadiens.com ]
Nick Suzuki revealed the reason for his absence from practice on Thursday: the birth of his daughter the previous day. [ TVA Sports ]
Cole Caufield says as long as his overall game keeps improving, his goal totals will continue to rise. [ The Athleti...
With the final regular season games concluding late Thursday night (and having a bearing on the final Western Conference seedings) the NHL’s first round schedule took a little while to complete. In the wee early hours of Friday morning, it finally dropped. Along with the other fourteen teams left competing, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens finally learned exactly when they’ll be competing against each other over the next two weeks.
For those of you in the Tampa area who feel...
Montreal Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault will be a clear trade candidate to watch during the summer. With the Habs having young goalies Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler, it would not be surprising in the slightest if they traded Montembeault this offseason. This is especially so when noting that he struggled big time this regular season, evidenced by his .872 save percentage and 3.43 goals-against average. Yet, given Montembeault's resume, there could be some teams out there willing to take a...
After the Buffalo Sabres clinched the Atlantic Division on Monday night, the only thing left to determine was where the first-round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning would start. With Montreal’s loss on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Tampa Bay secured the second seed in the division, and gets to play the opening two games, and Game 7 if it reaches that point, at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The NHL released the full schedule for the series, ...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Brendan Gallagher came out with something to prove after sitting out for four games. [ Journal de Montreal ]
Taking a look at the potential Canadiens’ playoff roster. [ NHL ]
Five things to know about the Habs heading into the playoffs, from how they got there to their chances of going all the way. [ CBC ]
There’s no such thing as a sophmore slump for Lane Hutson. [ TVA Sports ]
Looking at the numbers ahead of the Canadiens meeting t...
The Montreal Canadiens played their final regular season game on Tuesday night, paying a visit to the Philadelphia Flyers, who booked their ticket to the playoffs the night prior. It was a frustrating night for the Habs in general, as they ran into the best version of Samuel Ersson in net, and made some defensive mistakes that led to a 4-2 loss to wrap up their 82-game schedule.
This isn’t the end for the 2025-26 Montreal Canadiens, however, as their own ticket to the playoffs has been bo...
*The Flyers iced 2/3 of an AHL lineup last night and took it right to the Montreal Canadiens, who had reason to play hard for those two points. The kids are good, folks! We might have something brewing here! RECAP !
*Lineup was pretty fun last night though, huh? Nice to see some kids get a little time in the spotlight to close things out. [ BSH ]
*It was also Team Awards day yesterday, and most of the winners will come as no surprise to you, dear reader. [ BSH ]
*Never forget th...
With the Montreal Canadiens losing (in regulation) their final game of the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have secured home ice in their first-round match-up that starts this weekend. Is that a good thing? After all, this is a team that is 1-7 at home during their last three playoff series. In case you were wondering, yes, they lost all three of those series.
What’s been even more frustrating is that the Lightning had been very, very good at home during the regular season. Over t...
Not many regulars? No problem. The Flyers bevy of rookies and young stars led by Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone and Oliver Bonk defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Tuesday night.
The basics
First period: 8:08 – Porter Martone (Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk), 14:42- Oliver Bonk (Matvei Michkov, Hunter McDonald) Second period: 6:50 – Brendan Gallagher (Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Texier), 13:52 – Matvei Michkov (Unassisted), 19:49 – Jake Evans (Arber Xhekaj, Joe Veleno) Third period: 12:0...
First period
AHL opponent or not, the top line comes out in playoff mode with a high-danger chance in the opening 10 seconds, and Cole Caufield draws a high-sticking call to head to the power play.
It’s a short first wave with the top line having the shift to start, but the second unit looks dangerous as well. There’s been little to complain about on the power play the past few games.
Matvei Michkov gets a breakaway, but Jakub Dobeš makes the leg save on his deke.
Nick Su...
Game 82: Montreal Canadiens @ Philadelphia Flyers
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Flyers region: NBC Sports Philadelphia Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Montreal Canadiens have chosen to rest some veterans for tonight’s game. Mike Matheson will enter the playoffs on at least five days’ rest as he will watch from the press box. Phillip Danault will join him, and Josh Anderson, who is due for a busy series shadowi...
The Philadelphia Flyers are going to the PLAYOFFS, but, there is still one game left to play. As the Montreal Canadiens come to town, the Flyers will be icing roughly half of a real lineup (projected) but the visitors actually have something to play for.
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. How to watch/listen: 📺: NBCSP 📻: 97.5 The Fanatic
Pregame reading
The Flyers announced that they called up a bunch of players before tonight’s game, and it means a couple of NHL debuts are happe...
Just over a month ago, the New York Islanders were comfortably in a playoff spot. Even after a rough road trip out to California, a concerning stretch for sure, it still didn’t seem like the season was in any real peril. And then… Everyone else in the Metro started surging while the Islanders floundered, going […]
First period
There’s a loud “Go Habs Go!” chant to begin the game and the Canadiens are responding to the energy of their travelling fans.
It looks like they’re going to treat Matthew Schaefer the same way they handled Darren Raddysh when they faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving him no space to work with at the blue line.
Josh Anderson gets his stick into the face of Carson Soucy and goes to the box. We’ll see what the penalty-killing defence duos are.
Mike Matheson and...
On April 8th in 2013, Phoenix Coyotes forward Antoine Vermette fired a pass from the Vancouver Canucks goal line, past its intended recipient Keith Yandle, the entire length of the ice into Phoenix's empty net with one minute remaining in the third period trailing 1-0.
The own goal, credited to Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis, came during a two man-advantage thanks to a
On April 5th in 2011, Chicago Blackhawks benched backup goaltender Marty Turco allegedly wagered with a Montreal Canadiens season ticket holder named Robert during a match at the Bell Center after a second period goal by forward Michael Cammalleri put Montreal ahead 1-0.
According to Robert's retelling on the sports radio station Team 990, the bet began with a friendly $5 wager that Chicago
As the 2025-26 NHL regular season and the Eastern Conference playoff push winds down, there are teams that have seized the moment and strung wins together like the Penguins, Flyers and Senators, and there are teams that have spiraled out of previously promising positions to leave an empty feeling like the Red Wings and Islanders. […]
Game 81: Montreal Canadiens @ New York Islanders
Start time: **6:00 PM EDT / 3:00 PM PDT** In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Islanders region: MSGSN Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Islanders completed the majority of their road schedule early, leaving them with 10 of the final 12 games to be played on home ice, a chance to use that advantage to pull away from some division rivals and secure a playoff spot. They haven’t capitalized on that schedule however,...
After a very disappointing effort last night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it turned out to be worse than just a loss for the Montreal Canadiens. This morning, they’ve announced that Noah Dobson will be out for at least two weeks with an upper-body injury.
Le défenseur Noah Dobson a subi une blessure au haut du corps et sera réévalué dans deux semaines. Defenseman Noah Dobson sustained an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. pic.twitter.com/KjjNY6hcXJ — x – ...