8:20 pm
July 2

Lightning @ Canadiens

Who will WIN this matchup?

Tampa Bay Lightning (36-17-3)

@ Montreal Canadiens (24-21-11)

 

Starting Goalies:

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): Unconfirmed

Carey Price (MON): Unconfirmed

 

Current odds:

Tampa Bay Lightning: (-135)

Montreal Canadiens: (+115)

 

It’s not a do-or-die game for the Montreal Canadiens, but they know losing Friday’s home clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning will essentially seal their fate in the Stanley Cup Final. With the Lightning leading the best-of-seven series 2-0 as it switches locations, the Canadiens must find the magic elixir to win and prevent a potential sweep at the hands of the defending champions.

Likely the biggest key for the Canadiens would be to score first. It was Montreal’s calling card to success through the first three rounds of the playoffs, but the Lightning have hit the scoreboard first in both games. So far, beating Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a tall order. Montreal has only two goals in the series, and both were long shots that deflected twice off defenders before finding the mark.

Montreal head coach Dominique Ducharme will return to the bench after a bout with COVID-19 forced him to stay away from the team since early in the team’s third-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights. That may give the hosts a boost.

The Lightning have led by a 2-0 margin in eight previous best-of-seven series and won them all. Even so, they head into this clash knowing they were fortunate to win Wednesday’s clash, 3-1.

Certainly the venue will have a different feel. While the arena was packed with 17,166 fans in Tampa, Montreal can only have 3,500 fans on hand for the first ever Stanley Cup Final game at the Bell Centre. That won’t limit the excitement of a game in Montreal.

Regardless, the onus will be on the Lightning to play better compared to last game against a Montreal team that will give its all. “We’re playing a really good team,” Cooper said. “Our team game, we know we can be better, and if anybody has watched us play, you know we can be better. But again, and I said this (Wednesday) night, part of it was what Montreal was doing. They have a say in how we’re playing. You win the first game and you expect a push from the other team and we got it.”

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Tampa Bay Lightning