Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/19/2026

Game Time: 5:45 pm ET, Sunday, April 19, 2026

Venue:  Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL 

Where to Watch:  TNT, HBO Max, truTV

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +154, Lightning -185; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +155, Lightning -185; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +155, Lightning -190; Over/Under:  6 goals

Montreal Canadiens:  48-24-10 (3rd place, Atlantic Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  50-26-6 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

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Montreal Canadiens:  7-3-0 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  5-5-0 last 10

The Canadiens are entering the playoffs with 106 points, a 48-24-10 record overall, and they were 24-9-8 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Philadelphia Flyers in their last game, losing that one on the road 4-2. Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Alexandre Texier, Arber Xhekaj, Joe Veleno, and Kaiden Guhle each led the team in assists with 1 while Cole Caufield led the team in shots on net in that game with 10. Jakub Dobeš was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 25 shots with 24 saves and a .840 save percentage. Their offense has scored 283 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 256 goals against them allowing 3.1 goals per game.

The Lightning are entering the playoffs with 106 points, a 50-26-6 record overall, and they were 26-14-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the New York Rangers in their last game, losing that one at home 4-2. Corey Perry and Oliver Bjorkstrand each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Emil Lilleberg, Mitchell Chaffee, Scott Sabourin, and Zemgus Girgensons each led the team in assists with 1 while Brandon Hagel and Darren Raddysh each led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Brandon Halverson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 21 shots with 17 saves and a .810 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 290 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 231 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Canadiens listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Canadiens have looked good in their games this season with their 48-24-10 record overall which had them in the top half of their division in the East. They have been a great road team too with their 24-9-8 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Lightning have looked good in their games this season with their 50-26-6 record overall which had them right near the top of their division in the East. They have looked great on home ice too with their 26-14-1 home record this season. This is the 1st game of a 7-game series between the 2nd seeded Lightning and the 3rd seeded Canadiens in the Atlantic for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. These two finished with the same number of points in the standings with the Lightning edging out the Canadiens for home advantage in this series. Both teams clinched their playoff spots over a week ago, but both were still fighting for the home advantage in this series and the division too. Both ended the season on a loss, but the Canadiens have been the hotter team lately while the Lightning have been really up and down since the Olympic break. The Lightning are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and as good as they have looked at home this season, they haven't been putting pucks in the net lately. Scoring has become an issue over the last 2 weeks and they have had some trouble with the Canadiens this year too. The Canadiens have been rolling lately as they are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and they have been better in their road games this season too. The Canadiens have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL over the last month and they do have 2 wins over the Lightning during that time, so they are going to bring their best effort here against a team they have had success against and they have the talent to steal a road game in these first two. Look for the Canadiens to pull off an upset on the road and keep this a tight game. The best way to place a bet here is on the Canadiens to win this game and on the puckline. 

Canadiens Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Sunday, April 19, 2026 (5:45 pm ET start time) is Canadiens 3 Lightning 2.

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Montreal Canadiens: 70-75 (+19.5 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 to +200. 59-64 (+7.2 units) on the moneyline after playing a road game. 25-30 (+12.7 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 24-14 OVER after playing a road game.

Tampa Bay Lightning: 144-112 (-9.7 units) on the moneyline in all games. 2-8 (-6.2 units) on the moneyline in the first round of the playoffs. 137-106 (-7.5 units) on the moneyline against mistake free teams - opponents average 4 power plays/game or less. 7-3 OVER in the first round of the playoffs.

Montreal Canadiens:  N. Dobson (D) Out - Thumb. A. Carrier (D) Out - Upper Body. P. Laine (RW) Out - Abdomen.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  J. Johansson (G) Day To Day - Undisclosed. P. Holmberg (RW) Out - Upper-Body. V. Hedman (D) Out - Personal. D. James (C) Out - Leg.

"Felt like we played a pretty good hockey game overall. Thought we generated a lot. There's just some small little plays that ended up in the back of our net. I thought that it's just one of those nights where it just didn't go our way." - Nick Suzuki after their loss against the Flyers in their game on Tuesday. 

"We made the playoffs and that's it ... you don't win the Stanley Cup in the regular season, but to have a chance to win the Stanley Cup you have to get through it. Fifty wins ... to me that's a big number. For them to pull through and get that, especially with the division and the conference we're in, ... now it's the second season and it takes a whole new wave of commitment and determination." - Jon Cooper after his team’s loss against the Rangers in their game on Wednesday. 

LW Cole Caufield

C Nick Suzuki

RW Juraj Slafkovský

LD Mike Matheson

RD Kaiden Guhle

G Jakub Dobes

LW Gage Goncalves

C Brayden Point

RW Nikita Kucherov

LD Janis Jérôme Moser

RD Darren Raddysh

G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: Nick Suzuki (101)

Goals: Cole Caufield (51)

Assists: Nick Suzuki (72)

GAA: Jacob Fowler (2.43)

Points: Nikita Kucherov (130)

Goals: Nikita Kucherov (44)

Assists: Nikita Kucherov (86)

GAA: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.31)

Coaches:

Montreal Canadiens: Martin St. Louis (5th season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (14th season)