Lightning must overcome home playoff woes or they won't survive opening round against Montreal
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Montréal Canadiens during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
TAMPA, Fla. — — Behind a loud, energetic, sellout crowd chanting “Let’s Go Bolts!” from Thunder Alley into the arena, the Tampa Bay Lightning should have a clear home-ice advantage.
Not in the playoffs.
A 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 on Sunday was the Lightning’s 10th loss in 11 games at home in the postseason, going back to Games 4 and 6 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against Colorado.
They can’t afford to fall behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven, opening-round series. Game 2 is Tuesday night.
The Lightning have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round three straight years since the Avalanche prevented them from a three-peat four years ago.
“We believe in this group here. It’s a different team every year,” forward Anthony Cirelli said Monday. “That’s not in our mind at all. We have to go win a hockey game. That’s what it comes down to. Our energy level has to be up, our emotion has to be up. We have to be ready to go from the first 60-plus and have the urgency to win the game.”
Juraj Slafkovsky scored three power-play goals for the Canadiens in the opener. Lightning coach Jon Cooper wasn’t happy with his team’s penalty-killing unit and the players who put them in position to be short-handed. He called the penalties “stupidity.”
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) skates off after Montréal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovský scored during overtime in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
Tampa Bay was the most penalized team in the NHL in the regular season with 425. The Lightning had 14 penalty minutes and the Canadiens converted three times in five opportunities with the man advantage.
“The big one is staying out of the penalty box,” Cirelli said. “Our PK has to be better. They have a really good power play. We have to limit our penalties.”
And, they’ve got to play better on special teams.
“If you’re going to kill penalties off at 50%, then you’re probably not going to last very long,” Cooper said. “But if you kill penalties off at 50% and you only give up two (penalties), well, maybe you can survive.”
Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) celebrates with defenseman Jayden Struble (47) after Juraj Slafkovský scored during overtime in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
The good news for the Lightning is an 8-5 all-time record in playoff series that begin with a home loss. They are 13-8 in Game 2s at home.
The Lightning will need Andrei Vasilevskiy to play more like the dominant goaltender they’re used to having. He wasn’t sharp against the Canadiens in the opener, allowing four goals on 19 shots.
In a series that features potential Hall of Famers like Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov, Montreal’s Slafkovsky was the difference maker in Game 1.
Slafkovsky, who had four goals and four assists in six games for Slovakia in the Milan Cortina Olympics, has built off that success. After finishing with 30 goals in the regular season, he became the third-youngest Canadiens player to record a hat trick in the playoffs.
“The evolution of Slaf, I think, is almost the same as the evolution of our team,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “We know what he’s capable of bringing Slaf, and that’s what he did (Sunday). He played to his identity. Not just the goals — he was physical, he won battles. It was a big game for him.”
