With the Montreal Canadiens taking a 2-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning on the back of some incredible work by Lane Hutson, the plaudits are fairly directed at the Habs’ top defensive star. However, through three games it’s a surprising name who continues to tilt the ice in a big way, even in limited minutes.
Arber Xhekaj entered this series as a third-pairing defenceman, a role he’s mostly occupied this season, with its fair share of turbulent times that saw him out of the line...
There really are no bad shots in overtime. Just over two minutes into the third straight overtime game between Tampa Bay and Montreal, Lane Hutson proved that as he wound up and unleashed a shot through a forest of players that somehow eluded every stick, elbow, skate, shin pad, and blocker before finding the back of the net to give the home team the 3-2 victory.
It was another tight game between the two teams that saw waves of momentum come and go for both sides. Montreal opened the scor...
The building is loud, as it always is. It’s playoff hockey in Montreal.
First period
The Canadiens look sharp to start, using their speed to close down all attempted Lightning rushes in the neutral zone.
Zachary Bolduc gains the zone by getting the puck to Kirby Dach, who saucers it back to him. Bolduc makes a quick turn back to the slot to find a trailing Alexandre Texier, and the Frenchman makes it 1-0 for the home side.
Dach to Bolduc to Texier and it's 1-0 Habs! [...
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 3: Montreal Canadiens (A3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
Series tied 1-1
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 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+
The Montreal Canadiens players have already gotten over the disappointment of losing Game 2. That feeling has been replaced by the excitement of playin...
Game Three: Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1) at Montreal Canadiens (1-1)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Centre Bell, Montreal, Canada
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, TNT, HBOMax, truTV, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -122
Know the Opponents: Habs Eyes on the Prize
There are just certain sports venues that have a little extra energy to them. Notre Dame on a cool October Saturday, Yankee Stadium on a cool October night, Lambeau on a frigid January Sunday. Add Centr...
With two games in the books the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens shift their series north to the Paris of North America. Lightning fans thought all was lost after a Game One overtime loss. J.J. Moser provided a dopamine rush with his OT winner in Game Two. With Montreal claiming home advantage for at least the next two games the only thing we know is that this series is coming back to Tampa for at least one more game.
It has been, to say the least, an interesting series. At time...
In sudden-death overtime, you’re only a shot away from winning the game, but only if you actually take it.
In overtime on Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens did not record a single shot on goal. Even in their Game 6 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021, when they were outshot 13-1 before Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s game-winner, they had more shots than they did in the 12:48 of extra hockey in Game 2 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
There is no denying that Kirby Dach ...
The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue all week long after an excellent start over the weekend.
The playoffs have already delivered some chaos: the Buffalo Sabres stormed back late to stun the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens won Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime thanks to a hat trick from Juraj Slafkovsky, and the Minnesota Wild crushed the Dallas Stars early just to remind everyone brackets aren’t set in stone. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights ...
For the second time in as many games in this series, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in overtime on Tuesday night. In a reversal of the last game’s script, it was Tampa who took the lead in the first period, surrendered it to two consecutive goals by the Habs, then tied it in the third to send the game to extra time. Unfortunately for Montreal, the reversal of the script held true there as well, and a goal from J.J. Moser won it for the Lightning, splitting the ...
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 Tampa Bay Lightning played in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2020-2022. The Florida Panthers followed that up with three appearances of their own in 2023-25 and the Edmonton Oilers’ quest for a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance begins tonight against a young, fast, and inexperienced Anaheim Ducks club. The 82-game regular season…
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...
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...