Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens (3-2) will host the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-3) in Game 6 on Friday, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.
With the series returning to Montreal, the Habs will have a chance to clinch a second-round berth by beating the Lightning for a fourth time, though that’s putting the horse ahead of the cart.
Despite the fact that the Canadiens have controlled the majority of the quality scoring chances in the series, the games have been tightly-contested, with every match up having been decided by just one goal, and the first four games of the series necessitating overtime.
It’s rather impressive the Habs are in this situation to begin with, when we consider their usual first line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky has failed to do much damage at 5v5, which led to a considerable change in the lineup from head coach Martin St-Louis.
It remains to be seen which lines he will run on Friday, but don’t be surprised if Josh Anderson ends up on the first line with Suzuki and Caufield, while Slafkovsky could end up playing with Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov on the de facto second line.
Truth be told, from a production standpoint, labelling them the first and second lines is somewhat of a misnomer, as it’s been Montreal’s third and fourth line that has led the charge when it comes to finding the back of the net.
Veteran Brendan Gallagher made an immediate impact upon his return to the lineup in Game 5, scoring on his first very shift of the series. It was followed up by goals from Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier, a testament to Montreal’s underrated forward depth.
Kirby Dach restores the #GoHabsGo lead with a strong individual effort. pic.twitter.com/yuHmCBYByK
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) April 30, 2026
Potential Lineup Changes
For the most part, St-Louis will not change his lineup coming off a win, however, once defenceman Noah Dobson is available, he will certainly be added to the mix.
Dobson is still nursing an arm injury that took place in mid-April, and is expected to be cleared to play in the upcoming days.
Noah Dobson on ice for #Habs morning skate after missing first five games of playoff series vs. Lightning with thumb injury. pic.twitter.com/2rmifJ6dOw
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) May 1, 2026
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson
Juraj Slafkovsky – Jake Evans – Ivan Demidov
Alex Newhook – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Zach Bolduc – Kirby Dach – Alexandre Texier
Mike Matheson – Alexander Carrier
Kaiden Guhle – Lane Hutson
Jayden Struble – Arber Xhekaj
Jakub Dobes
Jacob Fowler
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lineup
Brandon Hagel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Yanni Gourde – Anthony Cirelli – Jake Guentzel
Gage Goncalves – Dominic James – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Zemgus Girgensons – Connor Geekie – Corey Perry
J.J. Moser – Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Max Crozier – Emil Lilleberg
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Bolts
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, Friday, May 1, 2026, will be aired on CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle blows.
Additional NHL Playoff Analysis
- Canadiens vs. Lightning – Playoff Primer – Head-to-Head at 5v5
- Canadiens Vs. Lightning – Special Teams
- Canadiens vs. Lightning – X Factors
