The first-round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been one of the most tightly contested you’ll ever see. Each of the first six games were decided by one goal, including four in overtime, and the teams have alternated victories throughout.
Montreal is hoping the latter trend continues when it visits Tampa Bay on Sunday for Game 7 at Benchmark International Arena. The Canadiens won Games 1, 3 and 5, with two of the triumphs coming on the road, while the Lightning evened the series with a 1-0 overtime victory at Montreal last Friday.
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The Canadiens, who haven’t won a playoff series since defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinals, are 15-9 in Game 7s — including 7-6 on the road. Looking to avoid their fourth consecutive first-round exit after making three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances, the Lightning are 7-3 overall and 4-1 at home in seventh games.
Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel is tied for first in the NHL with six goals this postseason and shares the team lead of eight points with Jake Guentzel. Nick Suzuki and defenseman Lane Hutson have five points apiece for Montreal.
While the Buffalo Sabres will host the winner of the Lightning-Canadiens showdown on Wednesday for the opener of their second-round series, the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild kick off their matchup at Ball Arena on Sunday.
The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round, while the Wild needed six games to get past the Dallas Stars. The Central Division rivals have met in the postseason three previous times, with Minnesota winning twice in seven games.
Colorado and Minnesota split their four meetings during the regular season. Each team posted a comfortable road victory and won at home in shootouts. Nathan MacKinnon led the Avalanche with four goals and seven points, while Kirill Kaprizov topped the Wild with three and six.
Here are some players with value to consider for player prop betting for Sunday’s NHL playoff games.
NHL Best bets for Sunday, May 3
Jake Guentzel, Lightning: 1+ assists (+120, FanDuel)
Guentzel leads Tampa Bay with six assists in the series and notched at least one in each of the first four games. The 31-year-old center has set up eight goals in 10 career postseason contests against the Canadiens. With the season on the line, I expect Guentzel to play a major offensive role for the Lightning and pick up at least one assist.
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Juraj Slafkovsky, Canadiens: Anytime goal scorer (+240, BetMGM)
Slafkovsky registered a hat trick in the series opener, scoring all three goals on the power play — including the winner in overtime. But the 22-year-old Slovakian left wing has been silent since, as Andrei Vasilevskiy has stopped all 10 of his shots over the last five contests. Slafkovsky proved he can perform on a big stage, as he was tied for second at the 2026 Winter Olympics with four goals in six games for Slovakia, so I like him to come through for the Canadiens on Sunday.
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Kirill Kaprizov, Wild: Over 0.5 assists (+105, BetMGM)
Kaprizov is tied for third in the league in assists, as he registered seven in the first round, which is one more than he recorded in 25 games over his first four postseasons. The 29-year-old Russian left wing set up at least one goal in four of Minnesota’s six games against Dallas and registered three two-assist performances. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a good amount of goals scored in the opener of the series against Colorado, and I see Kaprizov notching an assist or two for the Wild.
