Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/02/2022

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, April 2, 2022

Venue:  Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to Watch:  NHL Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +245, Lightning -310; Over/Under:  6 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +245, Lightning -310; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +260, Lightning -350; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

 

Montreal Canadiens:  18-39-11 (8th place, Atlantic Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  42-18-6 (3rd place, Atlantic Division)

 

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Montreal Canadiens:  3-4-3 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  5-5-0 last 10

 

 

 

The Canadiens are coming into this game with 47 points, a 18-39-11 record overall, and they are 8-20-7 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one on a 3 game losing streak. Their last win was against the Toronto Maple Leafs while their 5 losses in that span came against the Boston Bruins, the Florida Panthers, the New Jersey Devils, the Panthers again, and the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game. They lost that game on the road 4-0. No one scored a goal or recorded an assist in that game as they were shut out completely. Rem Pitlick led the team in shots on goal in that one with 4. Jake Allen was the starting goaltender in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 43 shots with 40 saves and a .930 save percentage. Their offense has scored 173 goals this season averaging 2.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 258 goals against them allowing 3.8 goals per game. 

 

 

The Lightning are coming into this game with 90 points, a 42-18-6 record overall, and they are 20-6-4 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are coming into this game on a 3 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Boston Bruins while their 3 wins since then have come against the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Islanders, and the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game. They won that game at home in overtime 4-3. They still have a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night that needs to be played first so this will be a back-to-back for them on Saturday night. In their game against the Hurricanes, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, and Alex Killorn each scored 1 goal in that game. Victor Hedman led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 19 shots with 16 saves and a .842 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 219 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 185 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game. 

 

 

The Canadiens have not been playing very well recently coming into this game and they currently sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference right now, where they have been for most of the season. They have lost their last 3 straight games and they even got shut out in their last game. Their goaltending has been a real problem for them recently as they have allowed 11 goals in their last 2 games and they are going up against the defending Stanley Cup Champions here who are starting to get into playoff form. The Lightning have won their last 3 straight games and they were very close to losing some of those but they really toughed it out and even came back late in their last game to win that one in OT. They are on a back-to-back here but they are at home for both games and they are playing against the Blackhawks in the first leg so they will not be challenged too much in that game. The Lightning will have plenty of energy left for this game and they should be able to pick on one of the worst teams in the NHL here at home. The Lightning will win this game by 2 or more goals.

 

Canadiens Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, April 2, 2022 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Lightning 4 Canadiens 1.

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Montreal Canadiens: 91-136 (-45.4u) on the moneyline in all games. 27-39 (-8.9u) on the moneyline in a road game where where the total is 6 or more. 19-8 OVER after 1 or more consecutive unders.

Tampa Bay Lightning: 154-85 (+15.8u) on the moneyline in all games. 39-18 (+7.6u) on the moneyline in a home game where the total is 6 or more. 31-21 OVER in a home game where the total is 6 or more.

 

 

Montreal Canadiens:  M. Pezzetta (LW) Ques Sat - Upper Body injury. K. Clague (D) Early April - Upper Body injury. J. Drouin (LW) out for season - Upper Body injury. J. Petry (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body injury. B. Gallagher (RW) Early April - Lower Body injury. C. Price (G) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. R. Poehling (C) Early April - Upper Body injury.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  B. Elliott (G) Ques Fri - Illness. R. McDonagh (D) Mid April - Upper Body injury. B. Seabrook (D) out for season - Shoulder injury.

 

 

 

“We were a little taken aback by how aggressive they actually are. We had no time to make plays.” - Nick Suzuki on their loss against the Hurricanes on Thursday night.

 

 

“Obviously a big part of tonight's win was the power play and the penalty kill. That's a really good team over there, and they've got good special teams as well. That was the difference-maker tonight." - Steven Stamkos after their win against the Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

 

 

 

LW Caufield, Cole

C Suzuki, Nick

RW Armia, Joel

LD Romanov, Alexander

RD Savard, David

G Allen, Jake

 

LW Stamkos, Steven

C Point, Brayden

RW Kucherov, Nikita

LD Hedman, Victor

RD Rutta, Jan

G Vasilevskiy, Andrei

 

 

Points: N. Suzuki (50)

Goals: N. Suzuki  (18)

Assists: N. Suzuki (32)

GAA: J. Allen (3.19)

 

Points: S. Stamkos (73)

Goals: S. Stamkos (30)

Assists: V. Hedman (45)

GAA: A. Vasilevskiy (2.37)

 

Coaches:

Montreal Canadiens: Martin St. Louis (1st season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (10th season)