Montreal Canadiens (29-33-12) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (41-26-7)
Game Info: Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 7:00 pm (Bell Centre)
Betting Odds: Montreal Canadiens +170 / Tampa Bay Lightning -213 --- Over/Under: 6.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens meet Thursday in NHL action at the Bell Centre. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Lightning vs Canadiens prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview
The Tampa Bay Lightning recently beat the Islanders and Maple Leafs while losing to the Red Wings. The Tampa Bay Lightning are averaging 3.47 goals per game and are scoring on 28.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Brayden Point leads Tampa Bay with 43 goals, Nikita Kucherov has 88 assists and Steven Stamkos has 227 shots on goal. Defensively, the Tampa Bay Lightning are allowing 3.23 goals per game and are killing 82.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jonas Johansson has given up 83 goals on 752 shots faced, while Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed 133 goals on 1,349 shots.
Montreal Canadiens Betting Preview
The Montreal Canadiens are coming off wins over the Flyers and Panthers while losing to the Hurricanes. The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 2.72 goals per game and are scoring on 17.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 32 goals, Mike Matheson has 42 assists and Cole Caufield has 275 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3.32 goals per game and are killing 77.2 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Cayden Primeau has given up 48 goals on 550 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 112 goals on 1,193 shots.
Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts
- Kirby Dach has scored at least one goal in four of his last five appearances with the Canadiens as home underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Kirby Dach has recorded at least one point in each of his last six appearances with the Canadiens as home underdogs.
- Kaiden Guhle has recorded at least one assist in each of his last four appearances after playing less than 20 minutes in the Canadiens' last game.
- Mike Matheson ranks 1st in the Atlantic Division for average time on ice (25:34) this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Brayden Point has scored a goal in five of the Lightning's last six games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in 12 of his last 13 appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Brayden Point has recorded a point in each of the Lightning's last seven games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Nikita Kucherov ranks 1st in the league for Points (130) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Montreal Canadiens rank 27th in the league for goals per game this season (2.72).
- The Montreal Canadiens rank 26th in the league in power play percentage this season (17.50%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 1st in the league in power play percentage this season (28.89%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 5th in the league for goals per game this season (3.47).
Lightning vs Canadiens prediction
The Lightning are doing what they usually do this time of year, and that's make that playoff push and rack up the points. While this isn't the best version of the Lightning we've seen over the years, they're closing in on a playoff spot and the defense has tightened the screws lately. The Canadiens have nothing to play for, and the offense doesn't show up a lot of the times. Also, the Lightning have won 8 of the last 10 games against the Habs and many of those games weren't close. Give me the Lightning and the PL for max betting value.
Randy’s Pick Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
