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 impressive seasons is having to face each other, one of three opening-round matchups featuring two 100-point clubs.
The teams are fairly even on paper, and the season series was also close between the teams with each club claiming two victories. However, considering that Montreal’s two wins came in the final weeks of the season, and that the Habs had much better form leading up to the playoffs, you could argue that the Canadiens are the better team at the moment.
Things that get cited as reasons to give the edge to the Lightning are their championship pedigree and overall better, or at least more ingrained tactics. However, the Lightning haven’t won any more playoff series in the past three years than the Canadiens, and the Habs have been a more composed team in their defensive play since a rough sequence of games in mid-March. Tampa Bay is familiar with that improved play after scoring just two goals in the final two matches of the season series, so both teams know they’re in for a tight battle for what might be the full seven games of this Eastern Conference Quarter-final.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #85 Alexandre Texier | #15 Alex Newhook | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc | #91 Oliver Kapanen | #77 Kirby Dach |
| #71 Jake Evans | #24 Phillip Danault | #17 Josh Anderson |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #48 Lane Hutson |
| #8 Mike Matheson | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #47 Jayden Struble | #72 Arber Xhekaj |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #75 Jakub Dobeš | #32 Jacob Fowler |
Injured: Noah Dobson
Scratched: Adam Engström, Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, David Reinbacher, Joe Veleno
Tampa Bay Lightning projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #93 Gage Goncalves | #21 Brayden Point | #86 Nikita Kucherov |
| #38 Brandon Hagel | #71 Anthony Cirelli | #59 Jake Guentzel |
| #28 Zemgus Girgensons | #37 Yanni Gourde | #20 Nick Paul |
| #10 Corey Perry | #17 Dominic James | #14 Conor Geekie |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #90 J.J. Moser | #43 Darren Raddysh |
| #27 Ryan McDonagh | #81 Erik Cernak |
| #51 Charle-Edouard D’Astous | #78 Emil Lilleberg |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #88 Andrei Vasilevskiy | #33 Brandon Halverson |
Injured: Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg, Jonas Johansson
Scratched: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Declan Carlile, Max Crozier, Scott Sabourin
