The Tampa Bay Lightning (19-9-1) will be looking to build on their winning run when they head to take on the Montreal Canadiens (14-14-2) at Bell Centre on Saturday. Tampa Bay is playing their first of four games on the road coming off a 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday, their fourth straight win.
The Lightning committed only one penalty in the game, holding Columbus without a power play goal. Brandon Hagel led the Lightning with two goals.
Brian Elliott saved an impressive 24 of 25 shots (.960%) in the win. Montreal fell 5-2 to the Ducks on Thursday. Cole Caufield scored twice to lead the Canadiens. Jake Allen saved only 27 of 30 shots against (.900%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Lightning won two of the three games between the teams last season, although the Canadiens were 5-4 (SO) victors in their final meeting in April.
Four players were on the scoresheet for Montreal. Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay with three points (1G 2A). Allen got the win, saving 37 of 41 shots (.902%).
FACING OFF
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.62 goals per game for the season, fourth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Canadiens team that is allowing 3.50 goals a game (23rd).
Meanwhile, Montreal has found the net 2.80 times a game on average, 26th in the league, and the Lightning are allowing opponents to score 2.90 goals per game (13th).
Montreal averages fewer shots (29.0) than most teams in the league, ranking 30th. With an average of 31.8 attempts, Tampa Bay ranks 14th. The Canadiens’ 14.29% power play percentage is the second-worst in the league, while the Lightning rank sixth with a conversion rate of 27.10%. In terms of defending power plays, Tampa Bay has the league’s ninth-ranked PK% at 80.41%, while Montreal is 16th at 79.25%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 45 points this season, fifth-most in the NHL, Kucherov is the top skater for the Lightning. He is among the league leaders with 34 assists (2nd) and has added 11 goals of his own. In the net, Andrei Vasilevskiy (12-8-1) is Tampa Bay’s top goaltender.
He has a 2.63 GAA and a .913% save percentage. Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 30 points. He has 14 goals and 16 assists in 30 games. Sam Montembeault (5-3-2) has the best goals against average for Montreal at 2.99.
He has a save percentage of .908%. Allen (9-10-0) has played the most games in net for the Canadiens this season. He has a 3.26 GAA and a .901% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Tampa Bay is 7-5-0 on the road this season. Montreal is 7-8-0 at Bell Centre this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning -1.5 (+105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
