NHL Games on TV Today – Wednesday, May 6, 2026 (ET)
The last series of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs second round finally gets going tonight. The Montreal Canadiens, fresh off a Game 7 win in Tampa, open in Buffalo against the Atlantic Division-champion Sabres. Later, the Anaheim Ducks try to even their Western series in Las Vegas.
Both games are on TNT, truTV and HBO Max in the United States, with Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports carrying them in Canada.
Wednesday’s NHL Schedule at a Glance
| Time (ET) | Matchup | Series Status | US TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 PM | Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres (Game 1) | Series tied 0-0 | TNT / truTV / HBO Max |
| 9:30 PM | Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights (Game 2) | Vegas leads 1-0 | TNT / truTV / HBO Max |
🏒 Game of the Day: Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres (Game 1)
7:00 PM ET | TNT / truTV / HBO Max (US) · Sportsnet / CBC / TVA Sports (Canada)
Two of the league’s most patient fan bases finally get a series that matters. Buffalo is in the second round for the first time since 2007 after ending a record 14-season playoff drought and winning the Atlantic; Montreal is through a round for the first time since the 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Canadiens arrive off one of the strangest Game 7s in NHL history. Montreal beat Tampa Bay 2-1 with just nine shots on goal – the first team to win a playoff game with fewer than 10 shots since the league began tracking them in 1959-60 – and did not register a single shot in the second period. Nick Suzuki opened the scoring on a deflection, Alex Newhook batted the winner out of mid-air at 11:07 of the third, and rookie Jakub Dobes made 28 saves. Noah Dobson also returned to the lineup after missing six games with injury.
Buffalo has been waiting since Friday, having closed out Boston at TD Garden in Game 6. Lindy Ruff’s team has been the NHL’s best road group since December, but this series gives them something they have not had all spring: home-ice advantage and a rested roster. Rasmus Dahlin quarterbacks the back end, and the line of Ryan McLeod, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch controlled play against the Bruins.
The obvious question is whether Montreal’s low-event, goaltending-driven formula translates against a team that scores in bunches. Dobes has been the best story of the postseason; Buffalo will test him far more often than Tampa Bay’s finishing allowed.
Prediction: Buffalo’s legs and home crowd carry Game 1 – Sabres by two.
Anaheim Ducks vs. Vegas Golden Knights (Game 2)
9:30 PM ET | TNT / truTV / HBO Max (US) · Sportsnet / CBC / TVA Sports (Canada)
Anaheim was the better team in Game 1 and lost anyway. The Ducks outshot Vegas 34-22 and drew praise from John Tortorella himself afterward, but fell 3-1 at T-Mobile Arena.
Brett Howden opened the scoring midway through the second, extending a career-best goal streak to four games, with Mitch Marner picking up the assist. Mikael Granlund tied it at 13:57 of the third after Jackson LaCombe walked in and set him up, but the lead lasted 65 seconds: Ivan Barbashev buried a cross-crease backhand feed from Pavel Dorofeyev to put Vegas back in front. That sequence began with a disputed icing no-call that Joel Quenneville openly disagreed with afterward. Marner added a 162-foot empty-netter with six seconds left, and Carter Hart finished with 33 saves.
Lukas Dostal faced only 19 shots and had little chance on any of them. If Anaheim keeps generating that kind of volume, the results should even out – but the Ducks have to bury one of those chances before the third period.
Prediction: Anaheim converts this time and steals one on the road to head home level at 1-1.
By the end of the night, all four second-round series will be underway. Carolina and Philadelphia resume with Game 3 in Philadelphia on Thursday, while Colorado and Minnesota move to St. Paul on Saturday.
