TAMPA, Fla. — The NHL playoff seedings are set, and for Tampa Bay, it could appear they are looking in a mirror across the ice.
Second-seeded Tampa Bay will face third-seeded Montreal to open the 2026 postseason. Game 1 is Sunday, April 19 in Tampa, with a time and TV network yet to be announced.
What You Need To Know
The seedings are set for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Second-seeded Tampa Bay (50-26-6, 106 points) will take on third-seeded Montreal (48-24-10, 106 points)
The best-of-seven series begins April 19 in Tampa
NHL.com Stanley Cup Playoffs breakdown
Although Tampa Bay has home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series, the Lightning are facing a talented Canadiens team on a recent hot streak. Montreal had an eight-game win streak last month and has only lost three games since March 21. Two of its victories during that time period came against the Lightning.
Tampa Bay (50-26-6, 106 points) has endured injuries to the likes of defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh and to top centers Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli, and yet they’re among the Stanley Cup favorites thanks to (potential NHL MVP) winger Nikita Kucherov, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and roster depth. Vasilevskiy gives the Lightning a chance to win every game, and the extended absences have shown why coach Jon Cooper is one of the best. Hedman has not played since mid-March, and his status in uncertain.
Meanwhile, Montreal right winger Cole Caufield became the organization’s first 50-goal scorer since 1990, and center Nick Suzuki crashed the MVP race. The Canadiens (48-24-10, 106 points) move the puck extremely well and quickly and can strike at 5-on-5 or the power play. They will have to prove they can play playoff-style hockey by defending and getting some stops in net.
But Tampa Bay has solved more than the Canadiens in recent memory.
The teams have faced each other four times in the playoffs, most recently in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, which Tampa Bay won in five games.
Montreal has only one playoff appearance in the past four seasons, a first-round loss to the Washington Capitals last season.
The Lightning, meanwhile, have reached the playoffs nine consecutive seasons, losing to the Florida Panthers in the first round in each of the past two seasons.
But before that, they won the Stanley Cup twice, in 2020 and 2021, reached another Final in 2022 and an Eastern Conference Final in 2018.
The Lightning extended their franchise record with a ninth consecutive postseason appearance since 2017-18, tied for the longest active streak in the NHL (with the Colorado Avalanche). They top the NHL in playoff wins (63), series wins (13), trips to the Final (three; tied) and championships (two; tied) over that span.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.