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NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens
Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

MONTREAL — It feels like every hour features more Montreal Canadiens news, and we’re all bound to miss a story or two. On Sundays, we always recap the relevant NHL news you may have missed, to help you stay in the Canadiens loop.

Seeing as the Habs played on Sunday, this edition of the Wrap is scheduled for Monday morning.

Make sure you don’t miss any Canadiens news by signing up to our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for various other NHL teams, or the daily newsletter covering the most exciting developments in sports.[Sportsnaut]

Montreal Canadiens News And Notes

Given the league has announced the Ottawa Senators vs. Carolina Hurricane series will start on Saturday, you’d have to assume the rights holders in Canada will want the Canadiens playing on a different day. All signs point to the series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning starting on Sunday.

It was far from the most exciting game of the season, but at the very least the Habs avoided injuries in the underwhelming 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. [Canadiens Highlights: Regular Season Comes To A Close]

Could phenom Lane Hutson end up winning the Norris Trophy? Statistically speaking, he’s among the best defencemen in the league.

Elliotte Friedman suggests Michael Hage’s decision to stay at the University of Michigan was well-received by the organization, even if they hoped he was ready to go pro.

Phillip Danault’s opinion on the Selke Trophy likely aligns with many other voters.

There’s no doubt about it, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the better team at 5v5 this season. However, when evaluating Montreal’s numbers versus the Lightning in their four games against each other, the discrepancy is less noticeable, with the Canadiens managing to control more shots than the Bolts. [Playoff Preview: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Head-To-Head]

The Laval Rocket have lost a few key players to the Habs this year, making reinforcements necessary. Fortunately, Vinzenz Rohrer is on his way to join the Rocket, and will participate in his first practice with the team on Friday. The Rocket are in first place in the North Division, with two games left to play in the regular season.

Two goaltending prospects have entered the NCAA transfer portal, which means they’re looking for a new school for the 2026-27 season. Alexis Cournoyer is moving on from Cornell, while Quentin Miller will no longer play for the University of Denver. Considering John Hicks came out of nowhere and put together a surprisingly fantastic season in Denver (.957 save percentage), Miller’s decision makes a lot of sense. As for Cournoyer, he’s likely hoping to land with a team that has championship aspirations.

I have to say it’s rather interesting that the Canadiens are heading into the playoffs with several questions about their second line left unanswered. I’ve been as critical towards Oliver Kapanen as anyone could have been, but in the long run, he’s the player who has managed to capitalize on Ivan Demidov’s excellent playmaking more frequently than anyone else. A bird in the hand…

hich day, it will be on Sunday, but the league is yet to release the actual start times. Oh, and we haven’t been advised when Game Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, or Seven will take place yet. Classic NHL! [NHL Playoff Schedule: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Begins Sunday]

ICYMI: There’s no doubt about it, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the better team at 5v5 this season. However, when evaluating Montreal’s numbers versus the Lightning in their four games against each other, the discrepancy is less noticeable, with the Canadiens managing to control more shots than the Bolts. [Playoff Preview: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Head-To-Head]

Check out this fantastic playoff pump-up video created by Danielle Lapierre! There was a time when editing on this level was reserved for a few expensive videos per year, but now we’re seeing fan-driven content which outclasses stuff produced by the teams, which is nothing short of excellent. Keep up the good work, Danielle!

I’m not saying phenom Lane Hutson HAS to win the Norris Trophy, but it’s a little ridiculous he’s not ranked among the top candidates by the NHL’s voters. Most data-based analysis suggests Hutson should be considered among the front-runners when it comes to deciding the best defenceman in the league.

Even though it seems rather clear that the Canadiens aren’t intent on using Patrik Laine any time soon, head coach Martin St-Louis is keeping close tabs on the situation, which can’t be easy for Finnish forward.

Speaking of players looking to make their mark, rookie David Reinbacher spent plenty of time with skills coach Adam Nicholas on Thursday.

Shockingly, or not, Hutson and Ivan Demidov were among the first players to jump on the ice at practice.

With Game One of the first-round series between the Habs and the Tampa Bay Lightning scheduled for Sunday, we continue with our in-depth series previews, including a comparison of their respective special teams. [Playoff Preview: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Special Teams]

We also evaluated some of the X-Factors heading into the series, including the importance of finding open space for Nick Suzuki and the rest of the first line. The Canadiens score a lot of goals, but if Tampa Bay’s shutdown line finds its rhythm, things will quickly turn sour for Montreal. [Playoff Preview: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Top X Factors]

ICYMI: There’s no doubt about it, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the better team at 5v5 this season. However, when evaluating Montreal’s numbers versus the Lightning in their four games against each other, the discrepancy is less noticeable, with the Canadiens managing to control more shots than the Bolts. [Playoff Preview: Canadiens Vs. Lightning Head-To-Head]

Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is now officially a father! The 26-year-old missed practice on Thursday, supporting his wife, Caitlin. They welcomed a daughter, Maya, to the world.

Prospect Alexis Cournoyer will play for the one of the best teams in the NCAA next year. The 20-year-old netminder has used the transfer portal, and will feature in games for the Wisconsin Badgers, the team that lost to the Denver Pioneers in the National Championship.

I promise you that anything authored by Michael Farber is well worth your time.

NHL 26 ran simulations ahead of the 2026 NHL Playoffs, and the Montreal Canadiens came out on top. Honestly, this means very little historically speaking. For the most part, the team picked by EA Sports tends to struggle in the playoffs.

We now know when (most of) the games from the first-round series between the Habs and the Tampa Bay Lightning will take place. It should also be noted that Victor Hedman is not expected return to the Bolt’s lineup any time soon, and that Lane Hutson practised alongside Kaiden Guhle for the Canadiens. [Canadiens Playoff Preview: Updated Lines, Tampa Bay Injury]

Rookie Ivan Demidov took line rushes with Alex Newhook and Alex Texier on the second line, and he’s feeling confident about the upcoming assignment against the Lightning, which will surely include providing some semblance of sustainable offence.

Former Hab P.K. Subban believes the Canadiens and the Oilers will meet in the Stanley Cup final, with the Canadiens emerging victorious. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming in technicolor, but with all due respect to Subban, there’s a lot of very difficult hockey left to play. It seems that every year a disproportionate amount of analysts suggests two Canadian teams will be among the last clubs standing.

Jakub Dobes hasn’t been one of the best goaltenders this season, but the mere fact that he’s not too far outside the top-5 is rather encouraging. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Andrei Vasilevskiy is ranked fourth in the NHL.

Unsurprisingly, seeing as they were the youngest team during the regular season, the Habs will also ice the youngest lineup in the playoffs. It’s a fairly wide margin, too.

Head coach Martin St-Louis left no grey area when discussing his allegiance to the Canadiens, and his time with the Lightning.

Many journalists expected the Lightning to make quick work of the Habs, and statistically speaking, there’s a lot of logic behind their opinion. The good news is that the games are played on the ice, not on paper.

The Habs got off to a great start in the playoffs, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in Game One. Juraj Slafkovsky provided the offence for the Canadiens, as evidenced by his hat-trick performance, including the game winner in overtime. [Canadiens Highlights: Slafkovsky The Hat Trick Hero]

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By Marc Dumont
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The ... More about Marc Dumont

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