Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Odds, Prediction
Thursday night is the first look this season for the Montreal Canadiens at the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are the current Sports Interaction betting favourites to win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Canadiens vs Lightning Betting Analysis
First of four meetings between these teams. Tampa Bay visits the Bell Centre on Jan. 4 and Feb. 24, and the Canadiens go back to Florida on March 10. It’s possible the teams could face off in the postseason, but Montreal has work to do to get into a wild-card spot. Barring major injury, the Lightning look poised to run away with the Atlantic Division as they lead the NHL with 54 points.
Last year, the Canadiens and Lightning split their four meetings, with Montreal going 1-1 in Tampa (both went to overtime). Max Pacioretty led the Habs with four points overall (1G, 3A) vs. the Lightning. Alexander Radulov, now with Dallas, had two goals. Carey Price was 2-1-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
Defenceman Victor Hedman (1G, 3A) and winger Nikita Kucherov (1G, 3A) led the Lightning with four points vs. Montreal. Superstar Steven Stamkos was limited to one game in the season series due to injury. The Bolts are currently -400 to win the Atlantic, +250 for the Eastern Conference and +500 for the Stanley Cup – no other team is below +1000 on the latter prop.
Montreal Canadiens
Second of a back-to-back for Montreal (16-17-5) as it came out of the break with its second straight multiple-goal loss, 3-1 in Carolina to fall back below .500. It was tied 1-1 entering the third, but the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho scored the eventual game-winner at 9:15 on the power play. He would add the clincher at 18:36 on an empty net. Montreal, which was 0-for-2 with the man advantage, got its lone goal from Alex Galchenyuk, his ninth of the season. Pacioretty’s struggles continued as he was minus-2. He hasn’t scored a goal this month and has only four points. Will Price play the second of a back-to-back after facing the Hurricanes?
Tampa Bay Lightning
This is the first game for Tampa (26-7-2) out of the holiday break. It has just one defeat in the past 10 games and leads the NHL in scoring (3.8 goals per game) and on the power play (28.1 per cent). Kucherov leads the NHL with 51 points and 24 goals, while Stamkos has 45 points, including 32 assists. Anton Stralman is No. 1 in the league with a plus/minus of plus-24. Andrei Vasilevskiy ranks first with 23 wins, second in GAA (2.13) and second in save percentage (.932). Kucherov could win the Hart Trophy, Hedman the Norris and Vasilevskiy the Vezina. The only weakness thus far has been a penalty kill that ranks just 22nd (78.5 per cent). Tampa Bay’s franchise record for points is 108 in 2015 when the team lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Chicago. That mark is on pace to be shattered. The Bolts won their lone Cup in 2004 against Calgary.
