Canadiens embrace chance to close out series before home crowd: 'Going to be loud'

Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) celebrates with teammate Kaiden Kuhle (21) after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during overtime period NHL playoff hockey action in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

TAMPA — Kaiden Guhle and several of his teammates are about to enter uncharted territory.

The Montreal Canadiens can close out their first-round series and eliminate the experienced Tampa Bay Lightning in front of a charged Bell Centre crowd in Game 6 on Friday night.

It’s an opportunity the Canadiens haven’t had since emerging from a full-scale rebuild that began after a much different team lost the 2021 Stanley Cup final — and Guhle believes they’re ready to seize it.

“It’s obviously going to be a new thing for a lot of us,” the Canadiens defenceman said during a video conference Thursday. “We’ve already learned so much throughout this run and this series, I think it’s a challenge that our group doesn’t shy away from.

“Everyone knows what to expect from them, and what to expect from the crowd.”

The Canadiens, the youngest team in the playoffs, lead the Lightning 3-2 in their first-round series after securing a 3-2 road victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Bell Centre has already reached as high as 113 decibels this series — somewhere between a rock concert and a plane taking off — and could be even louder Friday with Montreal on the brink of advancing.

“It’s going to be loud and it’s going to be fun and (we have to) use the crowd’s energy to our advantage, but I think we just got to stay even-keeled through all of it,” Guhle said. “Not get nervous, not do too much or try to do too little. Just keep playing our game.”

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis added his group needs to “have clarity through the chaos.”

“We talk about it often, and I think it’s one of our strengths this year, we really stick to our process,” he said. “Whether the noise is positive or negative around us, we stay in our bubble and we stick to the process.”

The Lightning, meanwhile, are trying to swing support in their favour with all-expenses-paid trips to Montreal for a few team employees, the team announced.

Tampa Bay will be desperate to avoid a fourth straight first-round exit, eager to force a Game 7 back at Benchmark International Arena on Sunday in a series where each game has been decided by one goal.

“Did I think we had our best game? We clearly did not. Is it really disappointing to come home and lose? It is. This is something we should take a ton of pride in and dig our heels in and not accept,” coach Jon Cooper said following Wednesday’s loss.

“They’ve been in that building twice now, they probably have a pretty good feeling of what to expect. How it’s going to go? I can’t sit here (and say) for sure, but I’ll bet we play better than we did (Wednesday).”

The Canadiens have managed to take the series lead despite top scorers Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov remaining goalless at five-on-five.

Instead, the role players have stepped up. Josh Anderson has two goals, as do Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier. Veteran winger Brendan Gallagher joined in on the depth scoring in his first shift of the series, burying the Game 5 opener after spending four games as a healthy scratch.

“If you look at our lineup or ask anybody in this room, everybody’s comfortable being a goal-scorer or point producer,” Dach said.

For the Lightning, Dominic James is the only forward from the bottom six to score in the series.

Leaky Vasi

On the same day he was nominated for the Vézina Trophy, Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up a goal he’ll want back.

Texier scored the Game 5 winner at 1:06 of the third period when, after a heads-up stretch pass from Lane Hutson, his wrist shot hit Vasilevskiy’s glove and dropped into the net.

Texier said it was instinct, not pre-scouting, that led him to shoot from that spot.

“I don’t really watch goalies, I’m not a 50-goal scorer,” he said. “When I have the chance, I just try to put it on net and sometimes you’re lucky it’s in, sometimes not.”

Dominant Dobes

In the other crease, Jakub Dobes made 38 saves Wednesday — including 12 in the final three minutes.

Even if he has a tendency to slide out of his crease, the 24-year-old rookie is providing steady goaltending on the playoff stage. Guhle said he isn’t surprised, noting that Dobes shut out the defending champion Florida Panthers in his first NHL start on Dec. 28, 2024.

“He’s been great. I don’t think anyone’s shocked, he’s a confident guy. He likes these big moments. He wants these big moments,” he said. “I think he lives for this.”

Snapping ‘em back

Canadiens centre Jake Evans is putting on a clinic in the faceoff dot, winning 66.1 per cent of his draws this series. He went a stellar 12-for-14 on Wednesday.

“I think it helps when you’re going against the same guys all the time,” he said. “I felt like for me it’s about timing, and if my timing’s on, I feel pretty confident out there.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press