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Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks | Preview

Its NHL betting time once again. The Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning is on tap tonight. Both will be trying to pick up a win with the line opening with Tampa Bay as a -140 favorite in this matchup. The over/under is set at 5.5, here is the handicapping preview…

2011 NHL Hockey Free Predictions: Canadiens vs Lightning

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Montreal Canadiens (35-23-7) at Tampa Bay Lightning (37-20-7)
Date/Time: Saturday, March 5, 2011, 7:00 PM ET
Venue: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Broadcast: CBC, RDS (HD), SUN (HD)
Habs vs. Lightning Betting Lines from Bodog.com
Spread: OFF
Moneyline: Montreal +120: Tampa Bay -140
Over/Under: 5.5 goals
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Two teams that are relatively safe in their position in the Eastern Conference meet when Tampa Bay hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. The Canadiens have been playing decent hockey of late and are coming off a 4-0 win over the Panthers while the Lightning are just .500 in their last 10 games and returning home after a less than productive four game road trip.

Montreal got some more bad news on the injury front this week when they lost Jaroslav Spacek for six weeks – add it to the list and hope that injury karma catches up with the Canadiens at some point this season. They deserve it! Montreal has gone 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and will be looking for their fourth straight road win in a building that they have lost their last two games by a combined score of 7-1.

Offense continues to be an issue for the Habs. They are 23rd in the NHL and score an average of 2.6 goals per game. Nobody has been particularly hot in the offensive zone for Montreal – Andre Kostitsyn has three points in four games and Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais each have two points in their last two games. Mike Cammalleri hasn’t quite found his form since returning from injury, Brian Gionta has been quiet and Scott Gomez has not been effective at all in the last couple of weeks. Montreal needs their top players to show up on the score sheet – Carey Price can’t do it all!

Carey Price and the Montreal defense enter Saturday’s game 8th ranked in goals against (2.5 per game). Price has been brilliant during Montreal’s three game winning streak going 3-0-0 with a goals against average under one.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are slowly losing their grip on the Southeast Division and have already lost second place in the Eastern Conference to the Boston Bruins. The Lightning went 1-2-1 on their recent road trip and they only scored six goals in those four contests. Overall, Tampa Bay has gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.

Tampa’s offense has dried up. They are 6th in the league in goals for (2.9 per game) and rely on their offense to get it done. Wanna know why they are struggling? Simone Gagne and Steven Stamkos have gone pointless in their last three games, Vincent Lecavalier missed Thursday’s game and could miss Saturday’s and the only player that is in the hot column is Steve Downie who has three points in four games!

Mike Smith started in goal against Boston and played well for the Lightning. Expect to see Dwayne Roloson on Saturday night – he is 2-1-0 in his last three starts with a 1.34 goals against average.

Betting Prediction: The Montreal Canadiens are 15-15-1 on the road this season but have won three straight away from home. The Tampa Bay Lightning are 21-7-4 at home this season and have lost two games in a row.

There is something about a team in their first game back from a road trip – usually their “A-Game” is left out on the tour bus! The Canadiens have been in Florida since Wednesday. With the Lightning having troubles scoring goals and with Carey Price absolutely in the zone, I have to take the road tem in this contest.

Pick: Montreal Canadiens +120

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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.