Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds

Edgar Chaput | Updated Feb 09, 2025

NHL: New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens

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The Super Bowl weekend tradition continues as the Montreal Canadiens host a Sunday matinee, this time versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tampa Bay
37-23-3-2
AT
February 09, 2025, 1:00 PM ET
Bell Centre
Montreal
31-27-5-2
Puckline -1.5 +125
Moneyline -200
Over / Under o +6
Matchup Odds
Puckline +1.5 -150
Moneyline +165
Over / Under u +6
Matchup Odds

Not only do the Montreal Canadiens need to rebound from a loss on Saturday to the New Jersey Devils (4-0), but this is the final NHL contest before the highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off tournament later in the week. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be in town after spending Saturday in Detroit, where they put the brakes on the Red Wings 6-3.

Our NHL odds give the edge to the visiting Lightning. They’re pegged -149 on the moneyline. Montreal is +125.

Lightning vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds

A Canadiens win on Sunday would see their record versus the Lightning this season improve to 3-0-0. They downed Tampa Bay at home just a few weeks ago by the score of 3-2 and had a memorable 5-2 victory in December as the visiting side. It would certainly flip the script from 2023-24 when the Lightning swept their four meetings with the Habs.

The Lightning are – at the time of writing – only five points out of first place in the Atlantic Division. That might change depending on what the Florida Panthers accomplish on Saturday evening, but they’re having a better-than-anticipated campaign. They head to La Belle Province with a three-game winning streak. It helps that Nikita Kucherov (82 points), Bradon Hagel (60 points), and Brayden Point (57 points) are all in the top 30 in scoring, league-wide. The only qualm is the average 27-27-0 tally against the puckline line.

Montreal does not look like its December 2024 and early January 2025 self. They’re a lowly 1-7-0 straight up in their past eight matches, with the lone victory earned against the San Jose Sharks; not exactly world-beaters. Furthermore, for all the hoopla up until a few weeks ago about how their issues in net were solved, the Samuel Montembeault/Jakub Dobes tandem has coughed up at least four goals in seven of those eight games. Dobes should start on Sunday.

Tampa Bay Lightning

A surefire way to know that you’re hot is getting the better of another hot rival. That’s what happened in Detroit on Saturday, where the Lightning bested the Red Wings 6-3. Detroit had been riding a seven-game winning streak.

If one looks at the major statistical categories, that final score might be confusing since Tampa Bay was grossly outshot 37-18. But they did what any club competent on the road aspires to: score early, score a lot, and take the crowd out of it. The goal lamp was lit six times in the opening 20 minutes, four times at the visitors’ behest. Hagel, Erik Cernak, Point, and Nick Paul made life miserable for the hosts.

Things got sentimental in the third period when, already up 4-3, offensive pressure by the Lightning allowed young Dylan Duke, a former Michigan Wolverine, to score his first ever NHL goal. It wasn’t necessarily an easy 6-3 win, but road games are all about getting the two points, no matter the way.

Montreal Canadiens

For their part, the Canadiens can probably relate to the Red Wings’ pain. They outshot their opponent, the Devils, 34-22. But it amounted to a goose egg in the end courtesy of a 4-0 defeat. What’s more, former Hab Jake Allen blanked them. Speak of the devil.

The most that can be said was that it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on the offensive end. Cole Caufield was the victim of larceny late in the first, and Josh Anderson was robbed early in the second. Nick Suzuki produced excellent reflexes from Allen in the middle frame as well. The puck just didn’t want to go in the net.

On the flip side, the Habs didn’t exactly play poor defence, but they let the wrong people take good shots, like Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Lightning vs. Canadiens?

NHL Predictions
SportsInteraction
  • TB
  • -200 +165
  • MON
Matchup NHL Odds