For a first career NHL playoff goal, an overtime game-winner isn’t a bad one to hang on the mantle. J.J. Moser exorcised the Tampa Bay Lightning’s overtime demons as he snapped a wrist shot past Jakob Dobes at the 12:48 mark of overtime to give the Lightning the 3-2 win. The series heads to Montreal all tied at one game a piece.
After their 4-3 OT loss in Game One, Coach Jon Cooper made a few line-up changes. Declan stepped in for the injured Charle-Edouard D’Astous while Scott Sabourin r...
The same woman who did the Canadian anthem is back for Game 2. Another loss is due.
First period
The top lines hems the Lightning in for a full minute to open the game. They were even able to make a change on the fly despite the bench being on the other half of the ice.
Scott Sabourin comes on the ice the first time Josh Anderson comes out. Sabourin gets in Anderson’s face. Anderson laughs.
Alex Newhook catches the Lightning with too many forwards pressing for offence, ...
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 2: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
MTL leads series 1-0
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French) In the United States: ESPN2 In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
Charle-Edouard D’Astous is unable to play today after his head contacted Jake Evans’s on a hard hit from Josh Anderson in Game 1. In his place comes Declan...
In what could be series-defining news, the Tampa Bay Lightning will likely be without top defenseman Victor Hedman for their entire first-round series with the Montreal Canadiens. Tuesday morning, head coach Jon Cooper called Hedman "doubtful" for the rest of the series. Jon Cooper says Hedman returning is on “the doubtful side for this series.” https://t.co/nVSdnM1fNl — Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 21, 2026 “I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Cooper said, “but I’d say I’d put ...
Game Two: Montreal Canadiens (1-0) at Tampa Bay Lightning (0-1)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, Florida
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, ESPN2, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -192
Know the Opponents: Habs Eyes on the Prize
“We know we have better in us.” If you’ve been around the Tampa Bay Lightning long enough then you’ve heard the phrase before. Much like you’ve heard “Process over Outcome” “Turn the Page” and several other p...
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 2: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
MTL leads series 1-0
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French) In the United States: ESPN2 In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have much luck with broken sticks during the regular season. Their fortunes didn’t suddenly change when the post-season began on S...
There were a couple of unwelcome regular season trends that carried over to the postseason in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game One loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Lightning were behind early. They came back to tie the Habs late, only to give up the go-ahead, and in this case, game-winning goal. The most unwelcome continuing trend was a Lightning player leaving the game early due to an injury.
Last night it was defenseman Charle-Edouar D’Astous who only played 9:35, leaving the game in t...
The underdog Montreal Canadiens were in Florida on Sunday night to start their playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The game had all of the intensity that their final regular season meeting suggested the series would eventually have, culminating in an overtime thriller. The Habs’ mission in going to Tampa was clear; try to take at least one of the two games and get a split before going back to Montreal. Not only did they accomplish that mission in game one, they have a chance to make i...
If there is one thing that has defined the Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes-run Montreal Canadiens, it is conviction. They have a plan, they believe in their plan, and they will stick to it. The plan won’t always take the conventional route, either.
Hiring Martin St-Louis was not a conventional hire. Taking Juraj Slafkovský was not the conventional selection at first overall. Even Gorton hiring Hughes wasn’t conventional.
It was all calculated, however. Through two periods on Sunday night...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Nick Suzuki shared that Canadiens game plan in terms of discipline wasn’t just about avoiding retaliations, but also deciding when to accept some physicality when a penalty could be a possibility. [ La Presse ]
Martin St-Louis’s explained his decision to use his timeout in overtime. [ Journal de Montreal ]
“That’s just stupidity,” Jon Cooper said of his team’s inability to stop taking offensive-zone penalties. [ The Athletic ]
Juraj Slafk...
On April 17th on 1997, netminder Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils scored an unassisted empty net goal against the Montreal Canadiens joining Ron Hextall as the second goalie to ever score in a NHL playoff game.
The Devils went on to beat the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal 5-2, eventually taking the series 4-1.
That's today in NHL history.
It’s not easy to sit down and answer questions fifteen minutes after losing a Stanley Cup playoff game. Heck, it’s not easy doing it after a win. Luckily, Coach Jon Cooper has a quite a bit of experience of doing both. Following the Lightning’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, here is what he had to say to the media:
When asked if had a problem with the penalties and the way the Lightning approached the game, he chuckled and replied,
“No, I had a problem with us....
The Lightning deserve to lose this game just for picking that singer for O Canada.
First period
With the arena about as loud as when the Canadiens introduce their training camp in the home-opener, the puck drops in Game 1.
A collision between Arber Xhekaj and Dominic James sends the Lightning forward to the ice writhing in pain. It looks like Tampa Bay is down to 11 forwards early.
The Canadiens leave the slot completely abandoned and left Erik Cernak step up to the has...
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, CO
SEASON SERIES: Colorado won 3-0
ON THE TUBE: TNT
PROJECTED STARTERS: Avalanche: Wedgewood (31-6-6 .921 / 2.02 4SO) Kings: Forsberg (16-12-5 .910 / 2.57 3SO)
PLAYER STATS: Colorado / Los Angeles
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING vs. MONTREAL CANADIENS
WHEN: 5:45 p.m. ET
WHERE: Benchmark International Arena – Tampa, FL...
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...