NHL

Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens

· East 1st Round - Game 3

Montreal and Tampa Bay square off with series tied 1-1

Tampa Bay Lightning (50-26-6, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division)

Montreal, Quebec; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT

LINE: Lightning -121, Canadiens +101; over/under is 6

NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 1-1

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Montreal Canadiens for game three of the first round of the NHL Playoffs with the series tied 1-1. The teams meet Tuesday for the seventh time this season. The Lightning won 3-2 in overtime in the last meeting.

Montreal is 48-24-10 overall with a 17-9-2 record in Atlantic Division games. The Canadiens are 20-6-2 when scoring a power-play goal.

Tampa Bay has a 50-26-6 record overall and a 17-9-2 record in Atlantic Division play. The Lightning have a 16-7-3 record when they commit fewer penalties than their opponent.

TOP PERFORMERS: Cole Caufield has 51 goals and 37 assists for the Canadiens. Juraj Slafkovsky has four goals and six assists over the last 10 games.

Jake Guentzel has 38 goals and 50 assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 6-3-1, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.6 assists, 5.1 penalties and 13.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.

Lightning: 5-4-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.8 assists, 6.5 penalties and 17 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

INJURIES: Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen), Noah Dobson: out (thumb).

Lightning: Charle-Edouard D'Astous: day to day (undisclosed), Victor Hedman: out (personal), Pontus Holmberg: out (upper-body).

Regular Season Series

Series tied 2-2

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMTL
2.79 Goals Against Average 3.06
26.7 Shots Against per Game 27.8
82.6 Penalty Kill Percentage 78.2
45 Power Play Goals Against 54
0 Short Handed Goals Against 0
3.49 Goals For per Game 3.40
28.1 Shots per Game 26.3
51 Power Play Goals 56
20.7 Power Play Percentage 23.1
6 Short Handed Goals 8
1207 Penalty Minutes 849
Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noah Dobson, D Out Apr 12
Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Victor Hedman, D Injured Reserve Apr 22
Charle-Edouard D'Astous, D Day-To-Day Apr 22
Pontus Holmberg, RW Out Apr 22

Game Information

Bell Centre

Location: Montreal, QC
Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 50 23 109 9
Tampa Bay 50 26 106 6
Montreal 48 24 106 10
Boston 45 27 100 10
Ottawa 44 27 99 11
Detroit 41 31 92 10
Florida 40 38 84 4
Toronto 32 36 78 14
Full Standings
Lightning Last 5
Date OPP Result
@ BOS W 2-1
vs DET W 4-3 OT
vs NYR L 4-2
vs MTL L 4-3 OT
vs MTL W 3-2 OT
Canadiens Last 5
Date OPP Result
vs CBJ L 5-2
@ NYI W 4-1
@ PHI L 4-2
@ TB W 4-3 OT
@ TB L 3-2 OT