Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens NHL Picks & Predictions 2/24/2018

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Bell Centre to play the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, February 24, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -175 and the Canadiens at +158.

Tampa Bay has a record of 41-17-3 this season and on the road they have a record of 21-11-2-2. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 219 goals and given up 164 goals for a point differential of +55. For the season they have an ATS record of 41-20-0 and an over/under record of 38-22-0. Montreal is 23-29-8 including 15-10-6-2 at home this season. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 154 goals and surrendered 189 for a goal differential of -35. Their record against the spread is 23-37-0 while their over/under record is 25-33-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 41-20-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 38-22-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 23-37-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 25-33-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

12/30/17 GO Peter Budaj Leg IR (12/29)
01/22/18 LW Ondrej Palat Lower Body IR (01/20)

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot IR (12/17)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Concussion IR (10/20)
02/23/18 GO Carey Price Head is out indefinitely
01/15/18 RW Andrew Shaw Lower Body IR (01/14)

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has accumulated 80 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 32 goals this year with 220 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 48 assists on the season and averages 20.1 minutes played per game. Brayden Point averages 19.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 24 goals on 160 shots. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 53 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 35 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 1,580 shots against him and he's given up 114 goals. He's made 1,466 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Brendan Gallagher has scored 36 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 21 goals this season with 199 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 15 assists on the season and averages 15.6 minutes played per game. Max Pacioretty averages 19.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 16 goals on 207 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season. Antti Niemi has 3 wins and 6 losses this year in goal for the Canadiens. He has 349 shots against him and he's surrendered 39 goals. He's made 310 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have 85 total points this season, which ranks them 1st in the NHL. They are 1st in the league in goals scored with 219 while they've given up 164 goals, ranking them 24th overall. They have had 213 power play opportunities and have scored 52 goals on those chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 2nd in the NHL. The Lightning have allowed 199 power play opportunities and have given up 44 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, putting them 24th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.13% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 5th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 27th in the NHL with a total of 54 points this year. They have 38 power play goals on 181 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks them 11th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 188 power play opportunities and have given up 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%. That is 25th in the NHL. As a team, the Canadiens are 29th in the league with 154 goals scored while they've given up 189 goals, which is 8th overall. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.55%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 24th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.4%, as they've attempted 3,708 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,505 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.3% as they have 2,781 attempts while they have given up 2,642 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 15th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 52.8% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the season. That is 26th overall in the NHL. They have 1,800 face-off wins compared to 1,974 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That ranks them 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,225 hits and they have blocked 863 shots from the opposition, putting them 22nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,772 face-off wins compared to 1,925 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.9%. That is 27th in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,536 hits and they have blocked 1,017 shots from the opposition, which is 1st in the league. Montreal is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.1% as they've attempted 3,780 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,621 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.4% ranks 12th as they have 2,755 attempts while they have given up 2,604 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +158

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