Here’s the schedule for the Canadiens’ first-round playoff series against the Lightning

The Canadiens knew they were facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL playoffs, and now they know exactly when they’ll be playing.

The Habs will begin their quest for a 25th Stanley Cup against their Atlantic Division rival on the road at Benchmark International Arena this Sunday, with an early puck drop of 5:45 p.m. for Game 1.

By losing their last game of the regular season to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, the Habs finished behind the Bolts in the standings, giving the 2021 Cup champions home-ice advantage for the series.

Canadiens winger Cole Caufield fires shot past Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for his 50th goal of the season as Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Gage Goncalves look on during second period in Montreal on April 9. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

After two games in Tampa, the clubs will play Games 3 and 4 at the Bell Centre. Those are scheduled for next Friday and Sunday.

Should the best-of-seven series go to six games, they’ll play another game in Montreal on May 1.

Here’s the schedule for Round 1:

Apr. 19: Canadiens at Lightning, Game 1, 5:45 p.m. (CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690, 98.5 FM).
 
Apr. 21: Canadiens at Lightning, Game 2, 7 p.m. (CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690, 98.5 FM).
 
Apr. 24: Lightning at Canadiens, Game 3, 7 p.m. (CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690, 98.5 FM).
 
Apr. 26: Lightning at Canadiens, Game 4, 7 p.m. (CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690, 98.5 FM).
 
Apr. 29 (if necessary): Canadiens at Lightning, Game 5, TBD
 
May 1 (if necessary): Lightning at Canadiens, Game 6, TBD
 
May 3 (if necessary): Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 7, TBD

To mark the post-season run, Canadiens players Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, Jakub Dobes and Alexandre Texier teamed up with the STM to provide onboard messages for métro riders at the Bonaventure and Lucien L’Allier stations.

The Canadiens are also holding watch parties outside the Bell Centre next week for the first two home games in the series, but some of the free tickets have wound up being resold online.

The post Here’s the schedule for the Canadiens’ first-round playoff series against the Lightning appeared first on Montreal Gazette.