The Lightning have qualified for the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons, though they haven’t won a series since losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022. The Canadiens are returning to the playoffs for the second straight season. They lost in five games to the Washington Capitals in the first round last season.
Montreal was led this season by its captain Nick Suzuki, who has an NHL career-high 101 points (29 goals, 72 assists) in 82 games. He is the fifth player in the franchise’s storied history to get at least 100 points, joining Guy Lafleur (six times), Peter Mahovlich (twice), Mats Naslund (110 in 1985-86) and Steve Shutt (105 in 1976-77).
Forward Cole Caufield was second on the team with 88 points, including a career-high 51 goals. He is the seventh player in Canadiens history to score at least 50 goals in a season, and the first since Stephane Richer had 51 in 1989-90. Lane Hutson, meanwhile, had 78 points (12 goals, 66 assists), and his 66 assists were tied with Larry Robinson for the most in a season by a defenseman in Canadiens history.
Jakub Dobes is 29-10-4 with a 2.78 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 43 games (42 starts). Jacob Fowler is 9-6-2 with a 2.43 GAA, .908 save percentage and one shutout in 17 games (all starts), and Sam Montembeault is 10-8-4 with a 3.43 GAA and .872 save percentage. in 25 games (23 starts).
The Lightning have been led once again by forward Nikita Kucherov, who is second in the NHL with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 75 games. Jake Guentzel is second with an NHL career-high 88 points (38 goals, 50 assists) in 81 games, Brandon Hagel is third with 74 points (36 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games, and defenseman Darren Raddysh is fourth with an NHL career-high 70 points (22 goals, 48 assists) in 72 games.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is 39-15-4 with a 2.31 GAA, .912 save percentage and two shutouts in 58 games (all starts) this season. He leads the NHL in wins, is tied for second in games played, and among goaltenders who have played at least 25 games, he ranks second in GAA and is tied for third in save percentage.
