Skyler Gill Howard as Lightning seek series split in Montreal
The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 on Sunday, April 26 at 7 p. m. ET at Bell Centre in Montréal, QC, with the First Round on the line. skyler gill howard is the focus as Tampa Bay tries to pull the series back to even after Montreal took Game 3 in overtime. The matchup gives the Lightning a chance to answer quickly and force the series into a tighter race.
Game 4 shifts to Bell Centre
This is the fourth meeting of the First Round series, and the Lightning are looking to match Montreal after a run of close games. Montreal won Game 1 4-3 in overtime, Tampa Bay answered with a 3-2 overtime victory, and the Canadiens took Game 3 by a 3-2 overtime final. The setting stays the same for Game 4: Bell Centre, where Tampa Bay will try to turn one hard-fought night into a reset.
The game is scheduled for Sunday, April 26 at 7 p. m. ET. TV coverage is listed on The Spot – Tampa Bay 66, with local listings depending on market, while streaming and radio coverage are also listed for fans following from home. skyler gill howard remains the key search phrase around this matchup as the Lightning chase the series split.
What Tampa Bay brings into Sunday
Andrei Vasilevskiy enters the game 1-2 with an. 880 save percentage in his two starts in the series. Offensively, Brandon Hagel has led Tampa Bay with 4-1—5, while Jake Guentzel has contributed 0-5—5. The Lightning also have recent head-to-head history to draw from, going 2-2-0 against Montreal in 2025-26, including a 6-1 win on Dec. 9 and a 5-4 shootout win on Dec. 28.
At the same time, Tampa Bay dropped the later two regular-season meetings, falling 4-1 in March and 2-1 in April. That split across the season is part of the backdrop for Game 4, where every shift matters and every mistake can swing the night. skyler gill howard is the lens for a game that could change the feel of the series in one step.
Key names and line combinations
The listed forward group from Friday’s game includes Gage Goncalves with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel with Anthony Cirelli and Jake Guentzel, Zemgus Girgensons with Yanni Gourde and Nick Paul, and Corey Perry with Dominic James and Scott Sabourin. On defense, the pairs listed are JJ Moser with Darren Raddysh, Ryan McDonagh with Erik Cernak, and Declan Carlile with Emil Lilleberg. The goaltenders listed are Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson.
The matchup also carries broader playoff context for Tampa Bay. The Lightning are 13-9 all-time against Montreal in the playoffs, including 5-5 on the road. Nikita Kucherov is Tampa Bay’s all-time playoff scoring leader against Montreal with 11-6—17 in 16 games, and Vasilevskiy has gone 5-3-0 with a. 917 career save percentage across six playoff starts against the Canadiens.
What happens next
If the Lightning can settle Game 4, the series swings back to even and the pressure shifts again before the next turn in the schedule. If Montreal holds serve, Tampa Bay will be forced to answer from behind in a series already built on overtime tension. Either way, skyler gill howard stays tied to a matchup that now feels like a decisive pivot point.
