Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 12/29/2018

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, December 29, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Canadiens at +225 and the Lightning at -290.

Montreal has a record of 19-13-5 this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 115 goals and given up 117 goals for a point differential of -2. For the season they have an ATS record of 19-18-0 and an over/under record of 19-17-0. Tampa Bay has a record of 29-7-2 this year. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 160 goals and surrendered 111 for a goal differential of +49. Their record against the spread is 29-9-0 while their over/under record is 22-14-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 19-18-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 19-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 29-9-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 22-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/28/18 RW Andrew Shaw Personal is questionable Friday vs Florida
12/27/18 RW Brendan Gallagher Illness is questionable Friday vs Florida
12/27/18 GO Carey Price Lower Body is out for season
12/26/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body IR (12/26)
11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

12/28/18 C J.T. Miller Upper Body injured last game, is questionable Saturday vs Montreal
12/28/18 D Mikhail Sergachev Knee left last game, is questionable Saturday vs Montreal
12/18/18 RW Mathieu Joseph Lower Body IR (12/18)
11/29/18 D Anton Stralman Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Carey Price has 15 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 868 shots against him and he's given up 83 goals. He's made 785 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Max Domi has accumulated 35 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this year with 87 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 17.8 minutes played per game. Tomas Tatar averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 12 goals on 88 shots. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has scored 61 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 17 goals this season with 106 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 44 assists on the season and averages 18.8 minutes played per game. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 13 wins and 3 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 602 shots against him and he's surrendered 46 goals. He's made 556 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Brayden Point averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 22% by scoring 22 goals on 99 shots. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 49 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have allowed 120 power play opportunities and have given up 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78% this year. That is 24th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.03% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 23rd in the league. The Canadiens have 43 total points this season, ranking 14th in the NHL in offense. They are 15th in the league with 115 goals while they've given up 117 goals, which is 9th overall. They have had 126 power play opportunities and scored 16 goals on those chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 31st in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Lightning are 1st with 160 goals scored while they are 19th in the NHL with 111 goals allowed this year. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 12.47%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 11th place in the league. The Lightning have a total of 60 points this year, which is 1st in the NHL. They have 39 power play goals on 131 opportunities for a percentage of 30%. That ranks their power play unit 1st. They've allowed 125 power play opportunities and have given up 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, which is 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.9%, as they've attempted 2,409 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,064 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.9% as they have 1,725 attempts while they have given up 1,535 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 6th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 54.9% of the time, which is 4th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.1% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 1,068 face-off wins compared to 1,197 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.2%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,027 hits and they have blocked 529 shots from the opposition, putting them 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning are 17th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season, which is 15th in the NHL. They have 1,167 face-off wins compared to 1,147 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 14th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 916 hits and they have blocked 530 shots from the opposition, which is 17th in the league. Tampa Bay is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.4% as they've attempted 2,291 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,167 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.6% ranks 9th as they have 1,745 attempts while they have given up 1,637 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Canadiens/Lightning NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -290

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