Tampa Bay Lightning vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction 1/21/25 NHL Picks

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 a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs last time out to fall to 25-17-3 on the year. After this game, Tampa Bay will head on the road for the first leg of a back-to-back when they square off against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lightning Looking To Rebound

Nikita Kucherov leads the Bolts with 69 points including a team-high 21 goals and 48 assists while Brandon Hagel has 50 points with 20 goals and 30 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 37 points of his own with 19 assists. Brayden Point has 50 points with 27 goals and 23 assists while Victor Hedman has 38 points with 31 assists. Jake Guentzel also has 46 points with 23 goals and 23 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 20-13-2 with a 2.35 GAA and a .916 save percentage while Jonas Johansson has gone 5-4-1 with a 3.27 GAA and an .899 save percentage on the year in goal for Tampa Bay.

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win

• The Lightning have won seven of their last eight night games against the Canadiens following a road loss.
• The Canadiens have lost nine of their last 11 games at Bell Centre following a home win.
• The Lightning have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight games at Bell Centre following a road loss.
• The Canadiens have failed to cover the puck line in six of their last eight games at Bell Centre following a home win.

Montreal Canadiens Recap

The Montreal Canadiens come into this game looking to build on a 5-4 OT win over the New York Rangers last time out to improve to 23-19-4 on the year. After this game, Montreal will head on the road for a game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Canadiens Looking To Stay Hot At Home

Nick Suzuki has a team-high 47 points with 14 goals and a team-high 33 assists while Cole Caufield has 44 points with a team-high 24 goals. Mike Matheson has 19 assists while Juraj Slafkovsky has 25 points with 19 assists and Lane Hutson has 35 assists as well on the year. Brendan Gallagher has 19 points with 11 goals while Jake Evans has 24 points with 10 goals and 14 assists. In goal for Montreal, Sam Montembeault has gone 16-16-3 with a 2.98 GAA and a .897 save percentage while Cayden Primeau is 2-3-1 with a 4.70 GAA and an .836 save percentage this season. Jakub Dobes is also 5-0 with a 1.55 GAA and a .941 save percentage as well on the year.

Why the Montreal Canadiens will win

• The underdogs have won 10 of the Canadiens’ last 12 games.
• The Lightning have lost seven of their last eight road games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• The underdogs have covered the puck line in 15 of the Canadiens’ last 16 games.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in six of their last seven games as road favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.

Total Goals Facts

• Each of the last five games between the Lightning and Canadiens has gone OVER the total goals line.
• Six of the last seven games between two teams from the Atlantic Division have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Five of the Lightning’s last six road games against Atlantic Division opponents have gone OVER the total goal line.

Lightning vs. Canadiens Prediction

I’m on the over here. I think we could see some goals here, with Montreal giving up some as of late and the Lightning playing in a lot of high-scoring games of their own. The over has hit in five straight meetings between Tampa Bay and Montreal, and I think the gap between these two teams is not as wide as it’s been in past seasons. Give me the over here.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Over 6