Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens Game 4 Betting Preview/Player Prop
05 July 2021
The Lightning were big betting favorites coming into this matchup, and they have dominated the first three games. Tampa Bay is the defending Stanley Cup champions, and they are using this matchup to prove their dominance.
Montreal has been on a remarkable run since the playoffs began, but this team appears to be running out of steam. The Canadiens have been able to pull off three straight upsets in the playoffs but need a victory to keep the dream season alive.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are -159 on the money line in Game 4 on Monday night.
Lightning Finding Some Offense
Tampa Bay has won most of their playoff games on the strength of defense and goaltending, but the offense has been great in this matchup. The Lightning have scored a total of 14 goals through the first three games, and the Canadiens simply can’t keep up.
Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 24 assists and 32 points during this playoff run. Brayden Point has also played really well for the Lightning, scoring 14 postseason goals.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has completely shut down the Canadiens in the Finals, and he has been great throughout the postseason. Vasilevskiy did allow three goals in Game 3, but doesn’t usually give up more than one per game.
Canadiens Can’t Keep Up
The Montreal Canadiens will have to play a near-perfect game on Monday night if they want to pick up the victory. Montreal just doesn’t have the depth to keep up with Tampa Bay, and the defense hasn’t been able to slow them down.
Nick Suzuki has posted a team-high seven goals and 15 points for Montreal, but that just isn’t enough production. The Canadiens are going to need to get some good break on Monday night to keep pressure on the Lightning.
Goaltender Carey Price came into this series allowing just 2.02 goals per game, but he has struggled as well. Price hasn’t gotten a ton of help, but stopping the Lightning has proven difficult for the veteran.
Tampa Bay Completes Sweep
The Lightning have completely dominated the Canadiens so far in this series, and there is no reason to think it won’t happen again. Tampa Bay is clearly the better team, and Montreal just hasn’t been able to slow them down.
The Canadiens will be playing a desperate brand of hockey on Monday night, and that should allow them to give the Lightning a bit of a scare. Tampa Bay will be able to get through that scare, and the Lightning will take control of this game from the beginning.
Don’t expect this game to be close for long as the Lightning won’t be messing around. Bet the Tampa Bay Lightning -2.5 as they complete the sweep and win their second straight Stanley Cup championship.
Player Prop
Victor Hedman (-140) Over 0.5 Points
In a distinguished career, Hedman added another first in Game 3 as he became the first NHL player in history to score a goal in each calendar month. His power play goal less than 4 minutes into the game gave him his first goal in July and made it a full 12 months of production.
The Lightning defenseman added an assist and two blocks in the 6-3 win that has Tampa Bay one victory away from becoming the first repeat champion since the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 2017-18 Norris Trophy winner had 45 points during the regular season, which ranked third among defensemen. He’s added 18 points (2 goals, 16 assists) in 21 postseason games this year and now has 88 points in 130 playoff contests in his 12-year career.
In a potential close out game, we’ll take Hedman (-140) to continue to lead the Lightning charge and go over 0.5 points.
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