2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference SFs
Game 1: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Buffalo Sabres (A1)
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: TNT, truTV
Streaming: Sportsnet+
After a tight series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens are probably hoping for a little more breathing room in their second-round match with the Buffalo Sabres. But that’s unlikely to be the case considering they’re going up against the 10th-best defensive teams from the regular season, and second-best of the playoffs after Buffalo allowed an average of just two goals to the Boston Bruins.
The Canadiens aren’t the Bruins, however. They’re not a team that relies on one player to carry them (David Pastrnak led Boston in both goals and assists in the opening round), but one with four lines and three defence pairings that can contribute to the offence. The Sabres were able to target Boston’s defence in the opening round to limit their offensive forays, and still the Bruins averaged 25 shots a game, so the Canadiens should be able to contend with what the Sabres throw at them.
One of the main talking points of the first round was how Montreal’s top line was neutralized, but Nick Suzuki had two points in each of the four games versus Buffalo this season, while Cole Caufield notched four goals in the season series. They’ve managed to punch through the Sabres’ defensive formation this year, and will be working to do that again and be more productive in this Eastern Conference Semifinal.
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 |
| #90 Joe Veleno | #15 Alex Newhook | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #48 Lane Hutson |
| #8 Mike Matheson | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #53 Noah Dobson |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #75 Jakub Dobeš | #32 Jacob Fowler |
Scratched: Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, Jayden Struble
Buffalo Sabres projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #19 Peyton Krebs | #72 Tage Thompson | #89 Alex Tuch |
| #17 Jason Zucker | #71 Ryan McLeod | #22 Jack Quinn |
| #6 Zach Benson | #9 Josh Norris | #91 Josh Doan |
| #12 Jordan Greenway | #48 Tyson Kozak | #29 Beck Malenstyn |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #26 Rasmus Dahlin | #23 Mattias Samuelsson |
| #4 Bowen Byram | #25 Owen Power |
| #64 Logan Stanley | #21 Conor Timmins |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #34 Alex Lyon | #1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
Injured: Sam Carrick, Justin Danforth, Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund
Scratched: Josh Dunne, Colten Ellis, Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa, Tanner Pearson, Luke Schenn
