Canadiens vs. Lightning Prediction and Odds: Who is Playing in Goal for Tampa Bay?
By Matt De Saro
Atlantic Division rivals the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning are set to do battle on Tuesday night in the Sunshine State.
The Habs are in a weird spot here, having their last four games postponed due to COVID-19 issues. They have not played since Dec. 17 and will either be very rested or very rusty. The Canadiens came away with a win in that game over the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. The win pushes the Canadiens record to 7-21-3 and they are currently eighth in the Atlantic Division. The extended break might have been a blessing in disguise for a team that had lost seven of their last eight games before the postponements.
The Lightning has also taken a bit of a break, along with the entire NHL due to COVID, but last played on Dec. 22. They won that game 4-3 over the Las Vegas Golden Knights and lead the Atlantic Division with a 20-6-4 record.
Can the Habs make the most of their time to rest, recover, and gameplan? Or, will they continue their losing ways and get beat up by a more well-rounded Lightning squad?
Here are the odds for tonight’s matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.
Canadiens vs. Lightning Odds and Total
Moneyline:
- Canadiens +220
- Lightning -260
Puck line:
- Canadiens +1.5 (-115)
- Lightning -1.5 (-105)
Total:
- 6.0 (Over -115/Under -105)
Canadiens vs. Lightning Prediction and Pick
I don’t think any amount of rest could prepare this Montreal team to reasonably beat the division-leading Lightning. These are two rivals heading in opposite directions. And they have been for some time now.
There is some mystery currently surrounding Tampa Bay’s goalie situation for Tuesday night that is worth mentioning here. Even after the break for COVID, many teams are still without their full roster. The Lightning, as of this writing, has no active goalie heading into Tuesday night.
Both Brian Elliott and Andrei Vasilevskiy remain on injured reserve after landing in the COVID-19 protocols on Sunday. The pair joins defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on the list. The Lightning has yet to call any other player up so they must be expecting one of the two goalies to return. There is a chance that they are struggling to find alternatives because of similar COVID problems with their minor league affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
Even with their goalie situation up in the air, the Lightning is a much better and far deeper team than the Canadiens. This has me leaning more towards the OVER considering how bad the Canadiens defense has been and the issues between the pipes for the Lightning.