Central Plains FFA Chapter

04/25 03:10 CDT Montreal hosts Tampa Bay with 2-1 series lead Montreal hosts Tampa Bay with 2-1 series lead By The Associated Press Tampa Bay Lightning (50-26-6, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division) Montreal, Quebec; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Lightning -116, Canadiens -104; over/under is 6 NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Canadiens lead series 2-1 BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Friday for the eighth time this season. The Canadiens won the last matchup 3-2 in overtime. Montreal is 18-9-2 against the Atlantic Division and 48-24-10 overall. The Canadiens have a 21-6-6 record in games decided by one goal. Tampa Bay is 17-9-3 against the Atlantic Division and 50-26-6 overall. The Lightning have a 17-7-4 record when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent. TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Suzuki has scored 29 goals with 72 assists for the Canadiens. Juraj Slafkovsky has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games. Brandon Hagel has 36 goals and 38 assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has four goals and six assists over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 6-3-1, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.6 assists, 5.7 penalties and 14.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game. Lightning: 4-4-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, 6.7 penalties and 17.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game. INJURIES: Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen), Noah Dobson: out (thumb). Lightning: Charle-Edouard D'Astous: day to day (undisclosed), Victor Hedman: out (personal), Pontus Holmberg: out (upper-body). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.