| MATCHUP | Tampa Bay Lightning | Montreal Canadiens |
|---|---|---|
| Team Records | 17-11-2 | 15-11-3 |
| Where | Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | |
| When | Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | |
| Time | 07:00 PM EST | |
| TV | ESPN+ | |
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens meet Tuesday in NHL action from the Bell Centre. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to bounce back from their 2-0 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs to drop to 16-11-2 this season. After this game, Tampa Bay will head on the road for a game against the New Jersey Devils.
Lightning Lose 4 In A Row
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 34 points including 12 goals and 22 assists while Brandon Hagel has 29 points with 17 goals and 12 assists and Jake Guentzel has 28 points with 14 goals and 14 assists. Victor Hedman has 12 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 17 points with 9 goals and 8 assists. Darren Raddysh has also added 18 points with 3 goals and 15 assists as well on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 11-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA and a .917 save percentage while Jonas Johansson is 5-5 with a 2.68 GAA and a .901 save percentage this season.
Montreal Canadiens Recap
The Montreal Canadiens come into this game looking to bounce back from a 4-3 loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues to sit at 15-10-3 this season. After this game, Montreal will head on the road for a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Canadiens Have Two-Game Win Streak Snapped
Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 32 points including 8 goals and a team-high 24 assists while Cole Caufield has 31 points with a team-high 16 goals. Lane Hutson has 22 points with 17 assists while Ivan Demidov has 22 points with 6 goals and 16 assists. Noah Dobson has 18 points with 14 assists and Mike Matheson has 16 points with 4 goals and 12 assists. Oliver Kapanen has 14 points with 8 goals and 6 assists while Alex Newhook has 12 points with 6 goals and 6 assists. Sam Montembault has gone 5-6-1 with a 3.61 GAA and an .861 save percentage in goal for the Canadiens while Jakub Dobes is 10-4-2 with a 3.03 GAA and an .890 save percentage.
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends: December 9, 2025
Why the Montreal Canadiens will win
- The Lightning have lost seven of their last eight night games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Canadiens have won nine of their last 11 home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in seven of their last eight night games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Canadiens have covered the puck line in each of their last three games following a home loss.
- The favorites have won the first period in each of the Canadiens’ last four games at Bell Centre.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The underdogs have won each of the Lightning’s last five games.
- The Canadiens have lost five of their last six games as favorites.
- The Canadiens have failed to cover the puck line in 16 of their last 17 games as favorites against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games as underdogs.
- The Lightning have won the third period in nine of their last 10 games against the Canadiens when trailing after the second period.
Total Goals Facts
- Seven of the Canadiens’ last eight games as favorites against opponents who are on the second leg of a back-to-back have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Four of the Lightning’s last five games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Four of the last five games between teams from the same division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Canadiens’ last 11 home games.
- The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in three of the Lightning’s last four road games against the Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts
- Nick Suzuki has scored at least one goal in each of the Canadiens’ last six Tuesday games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Nick Suzuki has recorded at least one assist in each of the Canadiens’ last 10 games as home favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Nick Suzuki has recorded at least one point in each of the Canadiens’ last 14 games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Cole Caufield ranks T2nd in the league for multi-goal games (5) this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Nikita Kucherov has scored a goal in five of his last six appearances against the Canadiens.
- Victor Hedman has recorded an assist in each of his last six appearances after playing the previous day.
- Jake Guentzel has recorded at least one point in each of his last six appearances against the Canadiens.
- Nikita Kucherov is the only player in the league to have recorded 2+ points in five or more consecutive appearances this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Montreal Canadiens rank 29th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.46).
- The Montreal Canadiens rank 4th in the league in power play percentage this season (25.64%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 1st in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (86.96%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 5th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.59).
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction
I’m on Montreal here. I think that the Lightning are in some trouble right now on a back-to-back, with Jonas Johansson going on Monday in the loss and Andrei Vasilevskiy out with an undisclosed injury. Montreal has been up and down, but Tampa Bay’s offense has hit the skids as of late and I think Montreal at home gets the job done here so give me the Canadiens.