The Tampa Bay Lightning, spearheaded by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman, are preparing to take the ice against Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, and the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre for a divisional tilt. This one will get going at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 2 and it can be viewed live on Fox Sports Sun.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens Odds
Montreal (+115) is entering this one as the underdog to Tampa Bay (-135), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals (-115 over, -105 under).
Tampa Bay is 21-17 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 38 regular season outings, 23 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and just one has pushed. This 2019-20 Lightning team is 9-8 SU on the road.
Tampa Bay enters the match up with the first-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s converted on 29.5 percent of its extra-man opportunities this year. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and it has successfully killed off 81.1 percent of its penalties..
With a .906 save percentage and 27.9 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (17-11-2) has been the best option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. If Tampa Bay chooses to rest him, however, head coach Jon Cooper might turn to Curtis McElhinney (4-6-2), who has a .905 save percentage and 3.21 goals against average this year.
On the other bench, Montreal is 18-22 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 40 regular season matches, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and just two have pushed. This season, the team’s 8-11 SU at home.
The Canadiens have converted on 23.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 76.0 percent of all penalties.
Carey Price (27.0 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for the Canadiens. Price has 16 wins, 16 losses, and three overtime losses to his name and has maintained a subpar .901 save percentage and 3.03 goals against average this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in four of their past five matchups.
- Tampa Bay has managed 32.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Montreal has been attempting 39.0 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Over Montreal’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 3-1 in those games).
- This game features two of the more physical defenses in the league. Tampa Bay skaters have accounted for the league’s 10th-most hits per game (23.1) and the Canadiens have recorded the third-most (27.4).
