Categories
NHL

Round 1: Canadiens vs. Lightning NHL Playoff Series Gambling Prediction & Lines

NHL Playoffs – Montreal vs Tampa Bay Picks

The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet in what was projected weeks ago to be a first round matchup of two teams that were close in the standings all season long.

CLICK TO GRAB OUR BEST Expert NHL Picks for 2014 HOCKEY Betting!

Odds to win the 2014 Stanley Cup:
#3 Montreal Canadiens 20/1
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning 28/1

Odds to Win the 2014 Eastern Conference

Montreal Canadiens 9/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 14/1
Canadiens Series Prices -101
Lightning Series Prices -119
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

A big advantage has already gone Tampa’s way – their shootout win in Washington in their final regular season game ensured home ice advantage and eliminated the chance of having to go to the Bell Center four times in the next two weeks. While the Habs enter the first round “all systems go”, the Lightning have a ton of question marks – ones that could turn into exclamation marks in the near future. Let’s break it down.

The Montreal Canadiens enter the playoffs on a high – they have been playing very well the last few weeks of the season and have a number of players HOT as we enter the second season. They possess perhaps the biggest X-factor in the game right now as well – Carey Price is ready to go having benefitted from his time in the pressure-cooker environment of the Olympics a few months ago.

*CLICK HERE* GRAB Razor Ray’s NHL Hockey Picks for 2014 GAMBLING season!

Price will be in the Vezina running this year – as good a keeper as there is in the game right now. He is a terrific last line of defense while Montreal’s first line of defense has been good in front of him as well. While PK Subban and Andrei Markov get a lot of attention for their offensive prowess they have been good in the defensive zone as well. Alexi Emelin and Josh Gorges have been solid compliments while Mike Weaver, Douglas Murray, Francis Boullion and Jared Tinordi provide decent depth.

Offensively the Habs have been formidable all season long – Max Pacioretty has had a break-out season, Tomas Plekanec has been very good and the acquisition of Thomas Vanek may just be the piece of the puzzle that the Habs need to take the next step.

The line of Vanek, David Desharnais and Pacioretty have 18 goals combined in their 14 games together. Brenden Gallagher, Brian Gionta, Travis Moen and Brandon Prust fill out a forward corp. that looks very solid on paper.
[ad-4437448]
As mentioned the Tampa Bay Lightning enter the playoffs with a ton of question marks. The MVP of the team – goaltender Ben Bishop is banged up, Martin St. Louis is a Ranger and Ryan Malone is facing some legal troubles after getting caught driving under the influence and with cocaine in his car last week. Yikes!

The good news is that Steven Stamkos has worked himself fully back into game shape – he will be the best player in the series. Ryan Callahan and Valtteri Filppula are the other names to watch for the Lightning but beyond that, there isn`t a whole lot of fire-power on this team.

They look on paper like an average group up front and average won`t be good enough in the Stanley Cup playoffs!

The same goes for Tampa Bay`s defense. They are OK, not great. Victor Hedman is a legitimate Number 1, Eric Brewer, Sami Salo and Matt Carle are decent compliments but there is a major drop-off after that. Radko Gudas, Michael Kostka, Andrej Sustr, Keith Aulie and Mark Barberio will all be in the mix for one of the final spots on the roster – unflattering I know!

Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction

The Tampa Bay Lightning won three of the four games against Montreal this season – all were close and all were low scoring.

For the Lightning it will be absolutely essential that Ben Bishop is healthy and on top of his game. That said the Habs look to have the edge over Tampa in every aspect of the game.

It is hard to imagine the young Lightning overcoming the Bell Center crowd in the three potential games there – it is equally hard to imagine the Canadiens not being able to win one on the road in this series.

It is going to be a close series guaranteed but Carey Price is the difference. The Habs look like a serious contender in the weakfish East – they pass the first test in Round 1.

Pick: Montreal Canadiens to win in six

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.