Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 3/10/2018

Saturday, March 10, 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, March 10, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Canadiens at +252 and the Lightning at -285.

Montreal has a record of 25-31-11 this season and on the road they have a record of 9-21-3-1. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 171 goals and given up 211 goals for a point differential of -40. For the season they have an ATS record of 25-42-0 and an over/under record of 28-37-0. Tampa Bay has a record of 47-17-4 including 24-6-2-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 250 goals and surrendered 189 for a goal differential of +61. Their record against the spread is 47-21-0 while their over/under record is 44-23-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 25-42-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 28-37-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 47-21-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 44-23-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot IR (12/17)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Concussion IR (10/20)
03/08/18 LW Charles Hudon Hand is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
03/08/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
03/08/18 LW Phillip Danault Neck is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
03/08/18 D Rinat Valiev Lower Body left last game, is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
03/05/18 LW Max Pacioretty Lower Body is OUT 4-6 weeks
03/05/18 D Victor Mete Finger is out for season
02/23/18 GO Carey Price Concussion IR (02/20)

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

03/08/18 D Ryan McDonagh Upper Body is "?" Saturday vs Montreal
03/08/18 GO Peter Budaj Leg IR (12/29)
01/22/18 LW Ondrej Palat Lower Body IR (01/20)

Player Spotlight

Antti Niemi has 4 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 466 shots against him and he's given up 45 goals. He's made 421 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Brendan Gallagher has accumulated 41 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 24 goals this year with 221 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 15.7 minutes played per game. Max Pacioretty averages 19 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 17 goals on 212 shots. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has scored 87 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 33 goals this season with 235 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 54 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 40 wins and 12 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 1,798 shots against him and he's surrendered 135 goals. He's made 1,663 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Brayden Point averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 27 goals on 181 shots. He has 30 assists, giving him a total of 57 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have allowed 215 power play opportunities and have given up 51 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76% this year. That is 27th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.59% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 23rd in the league. The Canadiens has 61 total points this season, ranking 27th in the NHL in offense. They are 29th in the league with 171 goals while they've given up 211 goals, which is 8th overall. They have had 201 power play opportunities and scored 40 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Lightning are 1st with 250 goals scored while they are 22nd in the NHL with 189 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.32%. They give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 5th place in the league. The Lightning have a total of 98 points this year, which is 1st in the NHL. They have 55 power play goals on 231 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranks their power play unit 3rd. They've allowed 224 power play opportunities and have given up 50 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, which is 24th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.4%, as they've attempted 4,172 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,107 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.7% as they have 3,048 attempts while they have given up 2,968 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 12th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 52.7% of the time, which is 6th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the season. That is 27th overall in the NHL. They have 1,968 face-off wins compared to 2,151 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That ranks them 28th in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,707 hits and they have blocked 1,139 shots from the opposition, putting them 1st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 52.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.8% for the year. That ranks them 12th and 24th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,011 face-off wins as opposed to 2,206 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That is 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,397 hits and they've blocked 952 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 21st in blocked shots. Tampa Bay is ranked 14th in Corsi percentage with 51.2% as they've tried 4,144 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,942 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 15th in the NHL at 51%, as they have 3,111 shots while they've given up 2,990 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -285

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald