Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, NHL Odds
It’s a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, which ironically was played by two Atlantic Division teams, as the Montreal Canadiens are in Florida to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is the first game for the Habs since a 3-2 shootout win on Dec. 16 against Philadelphia at the Bell Centre in front of no fans. The Bolts have been off since taking out Vegas 4-3 on the road on Dec. 21.
Tampa Bay is a -278 favourite to win on the NHL odds, with a total of 6.0.
Canadiens vs. Lightning NHL Betting Odds
Montreal has been absolutely dominated by Tampa recently, with the Habs’ only win in the last 10 games of this head-to-head coming in Game 4 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final. Nearly 90 per cent of Sports Interaction bettors are taking the Lightning in this game, while about 70 per cent of action is taking the Over.
It’s been a brutal season for the Canadiens this year as they’re just 2-11-2 on the road and they’ve lost seven of their last eight games overall. They’re 12-19 against the spread for the season and have failed to cover in nine of 15 road games. The total has gone Under in four of Montreal’s last five games.
Tampa has picked up where they left off last year and enter Tuesday on a six-game win streak at home. They’re 14-16 ATS overall and 6-9 ATS at home. The total has gone Under in four of the Lightning’s last six games.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal had dropped 16 of their previous 19 games prior to their 3-2 shootout win against Philadelphia. It was Cayden Primeau’s first win in three games started this season. Artturi Lehkonen and Laurent Dauphin had the regulation goals, while Jonathan Drouin was the lone shootout scorer. Lehkonen and Dauphin now find themselves in COVID protocols, joining Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot, Chris Wideman, Joel Edmundson and Jake Allen.
Allen’s inclusion on the COIVD list leaves the Habs without their top two goalies as Carey Price continues to work his way back to game shape. Primeau and Sam Montembeault will share the crease for the time being. Primeau, who is 1-2-0 with a 3.65 goals-against average and .905 save percentage, is expected to get the start Tuesday.
Montreal will also be without their top goal scorer in Josh Anderson (upper-body), who leads the team with seven goals. Nick Suzuki leads the team with 18 points (6G, 12A). Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku both exited COVID protocols before the break and are expected to play. That veteran experience is a big boost for the Canadiens as their practice on Monday included 11 players with less than 50 games of NHL experience.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning struck for three unanswered goals against Vegas to earn their eighth win in their last nine games before the break. Gabriel Fortier, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos all picked up goals in the win. It was Stamkos’ 65th career game-winning goals, breaking the franchise record. Tampa’s captain is having a big bounce-back season and sits sixth in NHL scoring with 35 points, including a team-high 14 goals.
Unfortunately for the Bolts, they’ll also be dealing with missing players in this game. In addition to head coach Jon Cooper, the team has also seen Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brian Elliott, Mikhail Sergachev, Andrej Sustr, Bellemare and Cirelli enter COVID protocols. Vasilevskiy and Elliott are the only goalies to make an appearance in net for Tampa this season.
With the Lighting also playing this game without their top two goalies, Maxime Legace is expected to get the start on Tuesday. In seven appearances with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch this year, Legace has posted a 3-3-0 record with a 3.86 GAA and .861 SV. The 28-year old has appeared in 18 career NHL games (16 starts), going 7-8-1 with a 3.69 GAA and .876 SV. Legace stopped 29 shots to earn his first career shutout in his last NHL appearance, which came as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 8.
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