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 dealing with the long change. Like they had done in overtime the previous game, they were playing keepaway from the Habs and threatening to spoil the first home playoff game of the season. But it was just a brief stretch to start the frame, and Montreal had the better chances to end the period. It was the sixth of eight periods to that point in which the Canadiens offence amassed more expected goals than the Lightning, they made it seven of nine in the third, and recorded the only chance of overtime to take the game, and a 2-1 series lead.
In almost all phases, the Canadiens are playing superior hockey to the Lightning, who were once again made to look too slow to contend with the Habs’ speed and transition pace in the final half of the game, much like they had to close out the regular season. Montreal is in the driver’s seat for Game 4, trying to claim a third win by sweeping this home set.
Even outplayed, the Lightning have the scoring talent to keep things close, and that’s been apparent with the three overtime games so far. Discipline remains a key factor for them, with Tampa Bay power plays one of the reason why the series has been as close at is has. As long as the Canadiens maintain their rhythm and stay out of reach of the Lightning forwards — and keep their sticks down as they speed past — they should once again be in control of the match and have a great chance of moving within a win of Round 2.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #71 Jake Evans | #24 Phillip Danault | #17 Josh Anderson |
| #15 Alex Newhook | #91 Oliver Kapanen | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #85 Alexandre Texier | #77 Kirby Dach | #76 Zachary Bolduc |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| #38 Brandon Hagel | #21 Brayden Point | #86 Nikita Kucherov |
| #37 Yanni Gourde | #71 Anthony Cirelli | #59 Jake Guentzel |
| #93 Gage Goncalves | #17 Dominic James | #22 Oliver Bjorkstand |
| #10 Corey Perry | #28 Zemgus Girgensons | #20 Nick Paul |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #90 J.J. Moser | #43 Darren Raddysh |
| #27 Ryan McDonagh | #81 Erik Cernak |
| #78 Emil Lilleberg | #24 Max Crozier |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #88 Andrei Vasilevskiy | #31 Jonas Johansson |
Injured: Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg
Scratched: Declan Carlile, Conor Geekie, Brandon Halverson, Jakob Pelletier, Scott Sabourin
