Ahead of Sunday\u2019s rematch. Is some element of revenge on the minds of players?<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, absolutely. And if you watched the last time these two teams played, it\u2019s clear they don\u2019t like each other very much. There was a lot of animosity, and I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to carry over right into this playoff series. It\u2019s interesting. It\u2019s kind of like the veteran hockey team that\u2019s been there, done that, versus the new kids on the block who are trying to get their foot in the door in Montreal with having the young talent that they do. So it\u2019s just going to be an excellent series.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming off milestone years for several players, can we expect more of the same from Caufield, Suzuki, Slafkovsk\u00fd, etc.?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, this has been probably the best line in hockey since, I\u2019m going to say, the Olympic break. Obviously, 30 goals for Slafkovsk\u00fd, 50 for Caulfield, 100-point season for Suzuki. They\u2019ve just been absolutely buzzing everywhere on the ice. And like I said earlier with the team, I expect that top line to carry this over right into the playoffs. If they want to have any chance, the top line is really going to have to power them and become a huge fan of Nick Suzuki along the way here. I have for quite some time, but he\u2019s really taken his game to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CP176097918-1024x874.jpg\")
Montreal Canadiens\u2019 Cole Caufield (13) skates by the number 50 prior to an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Montreal, Sunday, April 5, 2026. Caufield is one goal away from scoring his 50th for the regular season. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Graham Hughes<\/p>\n
Beyond those three players, does Montreal have enough scoring depth to really challenge the Lightning?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, they\u2019re better. And they have to find some throughout the lineup. I think they do. If you look at even through their second line with Demidov, who\u2019s had an outstanding rookie campaign, you go down to their d-core, Lane Hutson, one of the most skilled defenders and offensive defenseman the game has to offer. So I think they can find some scoring from everywhere. They have the right guy behind the bench and Marty St. Louis, who\u2019s been there, done that. And I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be having all those guys go on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should Montreal fans be concerned about the goaltending situation? Can Jakub Dobe\u0161\u00a0and Jacob Fowler somehow get the better of veteran Andrei Vasilevskiy?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m not. I know Vasilevskiy is an intimidating, I\u2019ll call it scary, goaltender in the playoffs. One of the best of all time in big games, in big situations. But Dobe\u0161 has been outstanding. Fowler, I want to say, kind of came out of nowhere. I think everyone thought he was going to be good, but not this good this early. I like their chances. They have two guys that have played some really, really good hockey, and then that for them. And at the end of the day, they just need one guy to make some saves.\u201d<\/p>\n
What role will physicality play in this series, and can the Habs keep up in that department?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, they\u2019re not the biggest team in the world, but they have a lot of fight. And I think they\u2019ve shown that this Tampa team likes to bully you a little bit. They have that pack mentality where they have a couple of guys that play that way. And Montreal hasn\u2019t shown that they\u2019re afraid at all. Ex-Hab, Corey Perry, you know, is going to be stirring it up a little bit on the Tampa Bay side. But I like this Montreal team to go toe-to-toe with them. It\u2019s going to be a great challenge, not just on the ice in terms of the skill, but like you said, with the physicality and some meanness as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you have a wild card player who could define this series?<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the Montreal side, I really like Jake Evans, not just because he\u2019s a Toronto kid and we went to the same high school. I just think he\u2019s a clutch player. He is more on the defensive side, taking big face-offs and killing penalties. But I think he\u2019s going to chip in with some big goals along the way. He\u2019s built for the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CP175692142-1024x801.jpg\")
Montreal Canadiens\u2019 Jake Evans (71) celebrates with teammate Cole Caufield (13) after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime NHL hockey action in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Graham Hughes<\/p>\n
What is the most likely path to victory for Montreal?<\/p>\n
\u201cStarts with this first series. I don\u2019t think they can look any further past Game 1 or Series 1. This thing might go six, maybe, might go seven. But past that, I like their chances. They are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the league. They\u2019ve shown it all year. So for them, I\u2019m sure they\u2019re doing the same. Take it one game at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can watch Game 1 of the playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning live on Sportsnet Sunday at 5:45 p.m.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2253868800-scaled-1024x682.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tNick Paul #20 of the Tampa Bay Lightning against Nick Suzuki #14 of the Montreal Canadiens at Benchmark International Arena on December 28, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio\/NHLI via Getty Images) 2025 NHLI <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The playoffs are here, and for the Montreal Canadiens, they start with a familiar foe, the Tampa Bay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-610980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}