MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning are all square as their playoff series returns to the Sunshine State for Game 5 on Wednesday
Tampa Bay rallied for a 3-2 comeback Sunday night in Montreal, tying the first-round matchup at two games apiece after the first three meetings needed overtime.
Here are six things to watch for as the series becomes a best-of-three:
SLIM MARGINS
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more evenly matched series after both teams finished the regular season with 106 points. The Canadiens and Lightning were minutes away from becoming just the third matchup in NHL history to open with four straight overtime games before Brandon Hagel scored the Game 4 winner with 4:53 remaining in regulation.
The teams are tied with 11 goals apiece, and the Lightning hold a slim 94-93 edge in shots on goal through four games. Each side has also taken 34 penalties. Montreal owns an advantage in the faceoff dot (54.9 per cent) and on special teams, with its power play running at 26.3 per cent compared to Tampa Bay’s 20.
“We could be down or we could be up 3-1,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki told reporters in Brossard, Que., on Tuesday. “It’s been tight every single game.”
TOP SIX TROUBLES
The Canadiens have kept pace despite getting no 5-on-5 production from their top players. The top line of Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky has yet to record an even-strength point in the series after combining for 161 in the regular season. They’ve also been on the wrong side of their matchup, surrendering four goals while on the ice, including Hagel’s Game 4 winner.
The second line of Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook hasn’t fared any better, also held off the scoresheet at 5-on-5 while generating little offensively. Could coach Martin St. Louis have changes in store? Slafkovsky spent a significant chunk of the season on the second line, building a strong chemistry with Demidov. Kapanen, meanwhile, played a team-low 7:32 on Sunday.
KUCHEROV UNLOCKED?
Faced with a similar issue, Lightning coach Jon Cooper moved red-hot Hagel onto the top line with muted stars Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in search of a spark in Game 4. Kucherov, a Hart Trophy candidate after a 130-point season, made a heads-up play on the winner, firing a deceptive one-timer from the half wall with Hagel planted at the top of the crease. He also set up Hagel’s power-play equalizer early in the third period.
TURNING POINT?
The Lightning trailed 2-0 in Game 4 when depth defenceman Max Crozier delivered a devastating centre-ice hit on Slafkovsky late in the second to turn the tide. Jake Guentzel then scored with 54 seconds left in the period before Hagel’s double in the third. A clear turning point in the game, the Canadiens were determined not to let it become the marquee moment of the series.
“If you let that moment define the series, you’re putting yourself in a bad spot,” St. Louis said. “Don’t let moments like that define it. Rewrite it.”
GOALIE BATTLE
Much like the series itself, it’s youth versus experience in the crease and so far there’s little separating the two netminders. Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes has a .883 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average for Montreal, compared to .882 and 2.58 for future Hall of Famer Andrei Vasilevskiy.
DOBSON SKATES
Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson is back skating, seen passing with partner Mike Matheson and even shooting the puck Tuesday morning before practice. Dobson has travelled with the team these playoffs but has yet to play after blocking a shot with his left hand on April 11. The right-shot blueliner registered 12 goals and 35 assists in 80 games while averaging the third-highest ice time on the team this season
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
