Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Canadiens vs Lightning NHL Odds
Looking for Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Lightning taking on the Canadiens on Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Lightning Canadiens matchup.
NHL Handicapping Analysis
2021 Stanley Cup Finals Game 2
(24-21-11) (0-1) Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-0) (36-17-3)
Date: Wednesday, June 30th, 2021
Time: 8:00pm ET
Venue: Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Canadiens +180 Lightning -220
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Canadiens +1.5 -165 Lightning -1.5 +145
NHL Betting Total: 5
Wednesday night will bring us game 2 of the Stanley Cup final. Tampa played a dominant game on Monday proving that they are the best team Montreal has faced so far. The Habs will be trying to even up this series before it heads to Quebec.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens got their first look at just how good the Tampa Bay Lightning are in their first game against them in over a year. Unlike the other teams they have faced so far, Tampa has excellent depth throughout their line up. Depth has been an ally to the Habs in these play-offs, but that might end here.
Tampa is also very sound defensively. They give up fewer odd man rushes, and the entire team is very effective in their own end. Brayden Point had 3 assists in game 1, and his first assist of the game was a result of him picking off a pass from Jeff Petry in Tampa’s own end.
The Habs have been able to shut down the top lines of every team they have faced so far, but in game 1, Tampa’s top line was on the ice for 3 even strength goals, and one power play goal in the dying minutes of the game. They will have to do a better job of shutting down Tampa’s top line moving forward
The other glaring issue for the Habs after game 1 is scoring. Their only goal came off the stick of Ben Chiarot. Suzuki and Caufield, the Habs young stars, were completely neutralized in game 1. Turnovers plagued their offensive hopes, and Tampa does an excellent job along the boards to keep puck possession.
One encouraging stat line is the shot counter. Montreal won’t be happy with their defensive effort given the score, but they only allowed 26 shots all game. In most games, Carey Price will be able to stop a good percentage of those, so I imagine this blow out score will be the outlier in this series.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It was business as usual for the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 1. Kucherov scored two goals, their power play got one on the board, and they continued to be excellent defensively. Tampa looks extremely strong, and they are deservedly the favourite to win the cup by a wide margin.
Tampa also continued to get an excellent performance out of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Anything that he could see, he stopped on Monday night, and he continues to make the case that he’s the best goalie in the league.
The top line showed no signs of slowing down against Montreal’s shut down style, and any concerns over Kucherov’s health seem to have been unfounded, which is excellent news for Bolts fans.
The other good news, is that Tampa put an end to Montreal’s penalty killing streak. They had previously killed 30 consecutive penalties, but Tampa proved that their power play was up to the challenge, even if the game was already sealed at that point.
We’ll see if that can carry through to the rest of the series.
NHL Betting Trends
- Montreal are 11-3 SU in their last 14 games.
- Montreal are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games against Tampa Bay.
- Montreal are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games on the road.
- Tampa Bay are 10-4 SU in their last 14 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games against Montreal.
- Tampa Bay are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games at home.
Free Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Prediction:
Montreal has gotten their first look at the best team they have faced all season, I expect them to make defensive adjustments and improve, but I don’t expect Tampa’s defence to waiver. Since the odds are so heavily in favour of Tampa, I suggest taking the under on game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Under 5 -105
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