The Montreal Canadiens are inching closer to securing a playoff spot, as they are firmly in the running to secure one of the top three spots in the Atlantic division. The Canadiens' rebuild has panned out for them tremendously, with all of their top young stars stepping up, such as Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Lane Hutson.
With the current playoff format, the Canadiens are going to face off against one of their rivals in the first round. As mentioned before, the Atlantic is tough with any of the teams having a feasible chance at reaching the Stanley Cup Final. But who should Canadiens fans be hoping they face off against in the first round?
During an appearance on TSN's SportsCentre, former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Martin Biron believes his former team would be a better matchup for the Canadiens. The main reasoning for his selection is because he believes no team would want to face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
What’s the better first-round playoff opponent for the Habs? #TSNHockey analyst @MartyBiron43 joins @JayOnrait to discuss. pic.twitter.com/YWRAKF0UVw
— JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) April 2, 2026
"For me, it would be the Buffalo Sabres, and I'm only saying that because Tampa has Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa has Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Jon Cooper as their coach and they've won Cups," said Biron. "They're battle tested. I'm looking at Tampa as, they scare me. They scare me in the Eastern Conference. They scare me in the Atlantic division."
Former Sabres goalie Martin Biron says Buffalo should be preferred first-round opponent for Canadiens due to Lightning
If your team is in the playoffs, you are going to be hoping that they match up against "easy" opponents. That's a given as a fan. For Atlantic teams, there are no easy opponents. But for the Lightning, they have shown they could be a nightmare to face in the playoffs. Let's not forget that most of this core in Tampa Bay won back-to-back Stanley Cups, and nearly secured the three-peat in 2022. Canadiens fans know all about it, considering they lost to the Lightning in five games in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.
During a separate appearance on TSN, Biron said that while Buffalo would be the better matchup, they are still going to be a "very tough out," considering the talent they have across the roster, and their goaltending figuring itself out, much like Montreal.
Biron brings up that the Canadiens and Sabres faced off in a three-game series in the month of January alone. The Sabres won the first two games by the scores of 5-3 and 4-2, while the Canadiens won the final matchup 4-2. Earlier in the year, the Canadiens beat the Sabres 4-2. So on the year, the Canadiens are 2-2 against the Sabres.
The Canadiens will have an advantage. Even though the goaltending could be a question mark, Montreal does have more playoff experience than Buffalo. The Canadiens made it to the playoffs last season, while the Sabres have the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 14 years. But given they're positioning in the standings with 100 points through 75 games, they are set to clinch a spot as soon as Thursday night. Could there be some nervousness from the Sabres once the playoffs begin? Who knows, but it could certainly be a factor.
The Canadiens still have eight games left this season as of Thursday and they still have a shot at winning the division. But if the Canadiens finish in second or third place, Biron believes they would want to play anyone except the Lightning.