Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, NHL Odds
A road sweep of dates with the New Jersey Devils this week, capped by Thursday’s 4-3 victory, has Tampa trail Toronto by just three points with 13 regular season games remaining. The Canadiens travel to Tampa Bay after getting roughed up in a 9-5 loss to Florida on Thursday, and have now fallen to defeat in eight of nine outings.
The Canadiens have improved to +325 underdogs on the NHL odds since opening as a +335 bet while the Lightning are perched as heavy -400 chalk. The total is listed at 6.5, with the OVER now listed as a -120 bet.
Canadiens vs. Lightning NHL Betting Odds
Saturday night’s matchup at Amalie Arena marks the third of four meetings between these Atlantic Division rivals on the season and the first of two scheduled clashes over the next four days. The Lightning earned the win in each of the two previous dates with Montreal, outscoring the Habs by a wide 9-2 margin in those contests.
Overall, the Lightning have dominated the Canadiens, winning 16 of 20 regular season tilts since October 2016, including nine of 10 on home ice. While the Lightning have scored at least four times in five of their past six matchups with the Canadiens, it has not been enough to produce wins for the OVER, which has gone 2-5 over their past seven meetings.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens were left shellshocked in Florida on Thursday after giving up seven goals to the Panthers on 19 shots over the first 13:18 of the contest. That early-game meltdown extended what has been a woeful defensive stretch for the Habs, who have now allowed an average of seven goals over their past three games, and 4.60 goals per game while losing five of their past six road dates.
Outshot by a wide 42-30 margin in Thursday’s lopsided loss, the Habs have now allowed an average of 37.8 shots on goal over their past six outings, and been outgunned by wide double-digit margins on five occasions over that stretch. Nick Suzuki has continued to struggle, going pointless through the first two games of this road trip, and has scored just once in 10 games. The club will also be without Jonathan Drouin on Saturday for disciplinary reasons after he reportedly missed a team meeting this weekend. On a positive note, rearguard Mike Matheson has picked up four points over the past three games, and fourth-liner Anthony Richard has chipped two goals and an assist over his past two outings.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After struggling over the past four weeks, the Lightning look to have turned the corner with a pair of solid victories in New Jersey this week. The club received solid goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stole Thursday’s 4-3 shootout victory with a steady 32-save performance that followed a shutdown 22-save display in Tuesday’s 4-1 win.
However, the Bolts are expected to turn over the crease to Brian Elliott on Saturday. The veteran has allowed five or more goals in two of his past three outings, but has limited opponents to two or few goals in three of his past four home dates. Despite being hampered by a lower body injury Lightning captain Steven Stamkos contributed two goals and an assist on Thursday, ending a dismal six-game stretch in which he produced just two points. However, Stamkos has also struggled to produce in recent dates with Montreal, scoring just once in nine meetings and contributing just four assists over that span.
