In their fourth and last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens take the ice at Bell Centre. The Sports Network will broadcast this divisional matchup, and the action gets going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 2.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds
Moneyline and Over/Under (O/U) odds have not yet been posted for this matchup.
Tampa Bay is 60-19 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 28.1 units this season. 42 of its contests have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under and just three have pushed. This 2018-19 Lightning team is 28-10 SU on the road.
Tampa Bay currently has the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s found the net on 28.3 percent of its extra-man chances this season. Its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 84.7 percent of its penalties.
Tampa Bay, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 4.1 times per game overall in the 2018-19 season, 4.2 per game over its past five outings total, and 4.6 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays 12.0 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Sporting a .925 save percentage and 29.9 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (38-14-4) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. Vasilevskiy played last night, however, so Tampa Bay could decide to rest him and instead turn to Louis Domingue (21-5 record, .908 save percentage, 2.88 goals against average).
The visiting Lightning have relied on Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos this year. Kucherov (125 points) has tallied 39 goals and 86 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 36 different games. Stamkos has 42 goals and 52 assists to his name (and has notched a point in 50 games).
Over on the other bench, Montreal is 42-37 straight up (SU) and has earned 5.7 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 79 regular season contests, 42 of its games have gone under the total, while 33 have gone over and just four have pushed. It’s 23-16 SU at home this season.
Montreal has converted on just 12.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 13th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
The Canadiens have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their past ten games. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 6.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price has denied 27.2 shots per game as the top choice in goal for Montreal. Price has 34 wins, 30 losses, and six overtime losses and has recorded a 2.50 goals against average and a .917 save percentage this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Max Domi (27 goals, 43 assists).
Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens Free Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their last five outings.
- Tampa Bay has managed 33.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Montreal is averaging 37.8 shots per game over its last five at home.
- The Lightning are 18-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-16 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Tampa Bay (6-1 in shootouts this season) has more experience in games decided by shootout. Montreal, however, is undefeated in two shootouts this year.
- Montreal has created 8.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.4 takeaways per game (ranked 20th in the league).
- Tampa Bay has managed 7.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 7.0 takeaways per game (ranked 22nd).
