2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 5: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
Series tied 2-2
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+
Through the first three games of the series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Habs had held their opponent to eight high-danger chances at ...
In the NHL playoffs Tuesday night, the two trailing teams won to extend their series, while Minnesota broke the 2-2 tie to pull ahead of Dallas, 3-2. But before that, a bit of Islanders fodder… Islanders News NHL Playoffs Tonight, someone will take a 3-2 lead in the Lightning-Canadiens series, while the Penguins will look […]
With the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning deadlocked at two wins apiece after four games, the series has become the talk of NHL circles as not just the most entertaining and fiery series of the first round, but possibly the most even series in recent memory.
The teams boasted 106 points each in the regular season, though if you looked under the hood you would see a sizable gap in the ability to consistently control play, favouring Tampa Bay. Yet the series has reflected much clo...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Martin St-Louis must contemplate changes to spark the top six. [ Sportsnet ]
The Habs focus on flipping the script for Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Can the Canadiens’ youthful skill overcome the Lightning’s experience in a best-of-three? [ Montreal Gazette ]
Montreal must control their emotions, even in the face of a storm. [ RDS ]
Jakub Dobeš maximizes his strengths through fearless aggression. [ The ...
The story before the game was Cleveland top prospect Travis Bazzana was recalled to help kickstart a struggling Guardians offense which had posted a 95 wRc+ over the past two weeks. While Bazzana did his part to help matters drawing two walks, Nick Martinez and comapny caused trouble and bothered everybody in the Cleveland lineup […]
Go Rays!
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has officially been selected as a finalist for the 2026 Ted Lindsay Award. The award is presented annually to the player who is deemed “most outstanding” as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association. San Jose Sharks sophomore Macklin Celebrini and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov were…
Nothing about this series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning has been easy on anyone involved. The intensity has made it an absolute grind for the players, and I think I can speak on behalf of most fans when I say that these games have had me chewing my nails down to the quick. It just might be the best first-round series in the league, and it shouldn’t come as much surprise that it has turned into a best-of-three, with both teams now having taken a game in the other’s barn...
By any account, the Yankees’ superlative play as of late has made them the favorites in an AL East division that looked hyper-competitive coming into the year. The Rays are close in New York’s rearview mirror, but the heavy hitters that everyone expected to compete with the Yankees in the division this year, the Orioles, […]
The Rays won a well-pitched, sharp defense nail biter tonight in Cleveland, with Steven Matz (seven innings pitched) and Ryan Vilade (three hits, two RBI) leading the way. If you like quick moving pitching duels, then the first four and a half innings of this game would be your idea of a good time. The […]
Go Rays!
After a rocky start to the year, the Rays team defense has started to settle in some areas, and nowhere is that clearer than the defense. Here’s how the 2026 Rays currently rank in various key defensive stats: To make more sense of the team’s defensive performance, we’ll break it down by position group. Catchers […]
Following their 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens, the Tampa Bay Lightning were a little more relaxed in their post-game interviews. Coach Jon Cooper in particular was in a good mood, especially when talking about the penalties and his reactions.
Jon Cooper
On Max Crozier – “He has that in his game. That’s why Cro is in the league. Not necessarily all those hits, but he has that in the game. He’s a big-time gamer.”
On shuffling the lines – “We’re getting mass pro...
It seems like watching Rays baseball is all sunshine and rainbows when Tampa Bay isn’t playing an NL Central opponent, right? The Rays are 11-1 against teams not hailing from the Senior Circuit, and are 5-10 against teams that do. In fact, the Rays went 1-2 against the Reds, Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals, and Brewers. Now, […]
Two things happened on Sunday night that hadn’t happened in the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. In a series that was tied for 71% of the time through the first three games, and within a goal the other 29%, a team finally built a multi-goal lead as the Canadiens were up 2-0 in the second period. Second, it ended in regulation as Brandon Hagel’s second goal of the third period gave the Lightning the lead that they would hold on to despite a late 6-on-4 power play f...
First period
A bruising shift from Phillip Danault’s line starts things off.
The Lightning almost get handed the first goal when Mike Matheson is stripped of the puck as he tries to cut through the front of his own net. Jakub Dobeš has to make a toe save on a point-blank chance.
The Habs are having trouble staying out of their own way in the series, just taking a too many men penalty to give the Lightning a power play.
The penalty is killed, and the crowd is loud once aga...
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 4: Montreal Canadiens (A3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
MTL leads 2-1
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French) In the United States: ESPN In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
For a few minutes in the second period of Game 3, it looked like the Tampa Bay Lightning had come up with an answer to the Canadiens’ solid play when teams are d...
The Minnesota Twins flew into St. Pete late Thursday night and will depart shortly. Much like a group of college spring-breakers, they will likely want to forget everything in between (if they remember it at all). In a move that felt a little like “playing with their food”, Tampa Bay ran old friend Griffin Jax […]
Go Rays!
First Chuck: 12:40 PM CDT (new anthem each week!) The Tube: Twins.TV The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network Spies ‘R Us: DRAYSBAY I never got to fully appreciate the King of Pop. By the time I was of music-appreciation age, MJ was in full “Wacko Jacko” Era: all Neverland Ranch accusations & dangling babies over […]
The Montreal Canadiens will take a 2-1 lead into their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night. And now they also have an edge in the 'injured top line defensemen' department as well. While Victor Hedman remains "doubtful" to play the rest of this series for Tampa, Noah Dobson, who has been out since April 11th , has now resumed skating , we have learned. Noah Dobson could be ahead of his return timeline Two weeks ago, when he went down, the team said ...
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 4: Montreal Canadiens (A3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
MTL leads 2-1
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French) In the United States: ESPN In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Bell Centre was as loud as expected for Game 3. Unlike last year when the Montreal Canadiens returned to play their first game down 2-0 to the Washington Capitals...
The Philadelphia Eagles added yet another Georgia Bulldog to their roster, drafting OG Micah Morris in the sixth round. Not only is Morris a very large human being, but some are arguing he was the steal of the draft with the No. 207 pick. He didn’t allow a single sack last season and is one […]
While we may see the 2022 version of Shane McClanahan back on the mound for the Rays, with every start he makes following a two-year absence riddled with injuries, the electric southpaw appears more and more like his old self. Today was no exception as he took home his second win of the season and […]
The Twins were drubbed 6-1, nearly taking in their first shutout loss of 2026, but regardless marking their eighth loss in the last nine ballgames, and exacerbating the absolute morale tailspin that Minnesota has found themselves in during the back half of April. A bizarre first inning opened with a ghost-timeout that required something akin […]