Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, NHL Odds
Montreal has picked up points in back-to-back games after a disastrous month of February saw them slip down the Atlantic Division standings. The Lightning have also dropped five of their past seven games heading into this one
Puck drop from Amelie Arena in Tampa, Florida is at 7:00 PM EST. Our NHL odds have the Lightning as the -250 favourite with the OVER/UNDER set at 6.5 goals.
Canadiens vs. Lightning NHL Betting Odds
The Bolts have won both meetings so far this season and Saturday will be their third of four meetings this campaign. Tampa is 8-1-1 in their last 10 versus the Canadiens, nine of which were regular season games.
In their most recent New Year’s Eve matchup, the Canadiens had a 2-0 lead before Lightning struck with four consecutive goals. The Habs scored one more before the end of regulation but it was too late as Tampa took the 4-3 win. The Bolts’ 4-3 and 5-3 wins this season have both hit the OVER and each team has covered the spread once.
Despite a horrendous 2-7-1 record over their past 10 games, the Canadiens have managed to cover the spread in seven of those games, including each of the past three games. They have a pretty impressive 38-22 record ATS through 60 games. They are the sixth-lowest-scoring team notching just 2.77 per game and have scored more than three goals just once in their past six appearances.
Tampa’s offence has been explosive all season thanks to Nikita Kucherov’s league-leading 104 points, putting them in the top 10 in league scoring. In years past the Bolts have had shutdown defence as well, which is what has been holding them back this season. They have the highest goals against average of any playoff team.
Montreal Canadiens
After snapping a season-high five-game losing streak, the Canadiens hit the road for Florida to take on the Panthers Thursday night. Nick Suzuki (24) tied it in the first and Juraj Slafkovsky (13) tied it again 2-2 in the second period. Alex Newhook (9) would score early in the third to give the Habs their first lead of the night, but the Cats would rally to tie it late, sending the game to overtime. Montreal would not score in the shootout and would lose the game 4-3, squeezing out a point against the top team in the division.
Suzuki was in on every goal for the Canadiens, picking up three points (1G 2A) in the game and extending his point streak to three games. He is on pace for 81 points this season a new career-high and is only two goals away from his career high of 26.
Cayden Primeau is set to start versus the Lightning on Saturday Night. The team’s third goalie has been starting once every four games all season and he is 5-6-1 in 13 appearances.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After getting walloped 6-2 by the Flyers on Tuesday, the Lightning returned to Amelie Arena to host the Buffalo Sabres, who were red hot winning four of their past six. The Bolts took the lead with their first powerplay of the game on Brayden Point’s 31st of the season. Just two and a half minutes later the Sabres would tie it 1-1 heading into the second. Tampa’s 26-year-old rookie Mitchell Chafee (3) would score the lone goal in the second, putting the Bolts ahead 2-1 into the final frame. Buffalo would score in the third, send it to overtime and with the momentum on their side, took the 3-2 win in overtime.
In net Andrei Vasilevskiy only stopped 20 shots and surrendered three goals. He has lost four of his past five starts and is now 20-15-1 since returning from injury earlier this season. He is shaping up to have the worst season of his career, but with 20 games left, has time to bring up his numbers.
With the trade deadline less than a week away, the Lightning are expected to be busy, filling holes on their blueline caused by injury. Perhaps they’ll reunite with defenceman David Savard who they’ll face Saturday.
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