2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 7: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (A2)
Series tied 3-3
Start time: **6:00 PM EDT / 3:00 PM PDT**
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: TNT, truTV
In the Lightning region: The Spot
Streaming: Sportsnet+
Noah Dobson will be a game-time decision for today’s Game 7, having ramped up his on-ice work in recent days to the point he’s been taking shots. He won’t be at 100% if the does play, and that leaves some uncertainty about how he will perform in such an intense game. His legs should work fine, however, to help out with keeping tabs on the Lightning forwards in the defensive zone and blocking shots the way he did all season long.
The Canadiens fared well without their highest-paid player, coming within a shot in overtime of wrapping up the series on Friday, but it should be a boost to have a rested player enter what has been an exhausting, tight-checking series for everyone involved. The issue will be that one defenceman who has gotten used to the style of play and learned how to handle his matchups will no longer be in those battles.
Montreal may have the slight benefit of being the road team in this game considering that the visitor has won four of the six games played so far, with Montreal being 2-1 in Tampa and the loss coming in overtime. The Lightning attempted to replicate a road environment of their own by spending the night in a hotel rather than at home, so it appears that neither club believes home-ice advantage is the key to this winner-takes-all match to continue its quest for a Stanley Cup.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc | #77 Kirby Dach | #85 Alexandre Texier |
| #71 Jake Evans | #24 Phillip Danault | #17 Josh Anderson |
| #11 Brendan Gallagher | #15 Alex Newhook | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #48 Lane Hutson |
| #8 Mike Matheson | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #47 Jayden Struble | #53 Noah Dobson |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #75 Jakub Dobeš | #32 Jacob Fowler |
Scratched: Adam Engström, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, Joe Veleno, Arber Xhekaj
Tampa Bay Lightning projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #38 Brandon Hagel | #71 Anthony Cirelli | #86 Nikita Kucherov |
| #59 Jake Guentzel | #21 Brayden Point | #10 Corey Perry |
| #28 Zemgus Girgensons | #37 Yanni Gourde | #20 Nick Paul |
| #93 Gage Goncalves | #17 Dominic James | #22 Oliver Bjorkstand |
| 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 | #31 Jonas Johansson |
Injured: Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg
Scratched: Declan Carlile, Max Crozier, Conor Geekie, Brandon Halverson, Jakob Pelletier, Scott Sabourin
