Canadiens to expand outdoor playoff watch party with third screen outside Bell Centre

The Canadiens are running out of room outside the Bell Centre.

After thousands of fans have packed avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal for the team’s outdoor playoff watch parties, the organization announced Saturday it is expanding the setup yet again ahead of Game 3 against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night.

“The Canadiens Watch Party-Street Edition is expanding!” the team’s page wrote in a post on X. “We’ve added a third screen outside the Bell Centre to accommodate the incredible demand we’ve seen for our outdoor viewing parties on home game days so far and are excited to once again see avenue des Canadiens-de-Montreal packed for our free event.”

People react outside the Bell Centre in Montreal during Game 6 between the Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday, May 1, 2026. John Kenney / MONTREAL GAZETTE

No ticket is required to attend the outdoor viewing parties.

The Canadiens will host Buffalo on Sunday in Game 3 of the second round. The series is tied 1-1 after the Canadiens’ 5-1 thumping road win in Buffalo.

Since the start of the playoffs, the setup outside the arena has continued to evolve.

The watch party at first was surrounded by tall fencing that created a relatively narrow fan zone along avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal. 

But Montreal police later asked for the barriers to be removed, saying they were “potentially dangerous” and could make it harder to evacuate the area if necessary, according to police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant.

And with the swelling crowds has come tighter security.

A heavy police presence around Canadiens playoff games has become routine in recent weeks, though authorities say staffing is increased further during home playoff dates. 

Also in its social media post Saturday, the Canadiens reminded fans fireworks, flares, pyrotechnics and smoke bombs are prohibited in public spaces.

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