Victor Hedman misses again as Canadiens host Game 3 tonight
Victor Hedman will not dress for the Lightning tonight at the Bell Centre, giving the Canadiens a significant edge heading into Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.
This is the third straight game the Lightning's captain has been out.
Tampa Bay is also still without Charles-Edouard D'Astous, their other missing blueliner, so Jon Cooper's defensive corps walks into Montreal short-handed in a real way.
Two games without him, and the Lightning are already in a hole. They dropped Game 1 in overtime and stole Game 2 the same way - a split on the road, but not the kind of split that should generate confidence when your best defender is watching from street clothes.
The Canadiens go into tonight's puck drop at 48-24-10 on the season, 106 points, and 24-15-2 at home.
That home record matters. This building is loud, and the Bell Centre crowd has seen this team close out opponents all season long.
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Suzuki and Caufield held scoreless at 5-on-5 so far - that has to change tonight
The elephant in the room for Martin St-Louis is that his top line has been invisible at even strength through two games.
Nick Suzuki has 3 points in the series, all on the power play. Cole Caufield also has 3 points, all on the power play.
Zero 5-on-5 production from your two highest-paid forwards, combined, is not a formula you can sustain in a playoff series. Not even with Hedman in the press box.
Juraj Slafkovsky has been Montreal's most dangerous forward on the ice. Three goals in two games, including the overtime winner in Game 1, and all three came with the man advantage.
That's a lot of weight on special teams. If Tampa Bay's penalty kill tightens up, or the Canadiens simply can't draw the calls, the top six needs to find another gear.
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The Canadiens are also without Noah Dobson, listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury, so St-Louis is managing his own blue line questions while trying to exploit Tampa's.
It creates a strange dynamic - both teams sitting down their best defenseman, playing a kind of mirror-image game where neither side has their full complement on the back end.
Lane Hutson has 2 points in the series and carries a $950,000 cap hit. He is 22 years old, playing in his first playoff run, and quietly becoming the most important skater on Montreal's blue line right now.
Josh Anderson has 2 goals in 2 games. He does not generate much offence in the regular season - 14 goals in 72 games this year - but he shows up when the games mean something. That is not nothing.
The series is tied. The bell has moved to Montreal. Hedman is watching. The Canadiens have every reason to take control tonight, and every excuse gone if they don't.
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YESTERDAY
APRIL 23, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Bowen Byram | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Noah Ostlund | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Alex Laferriere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Drake Batherson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tanner Jeannot | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cale Makar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Trevor Moore | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Quinton Byfield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Cousins | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Peyton Krebs | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Manson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Charlie McAvoy | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||