NHL Picks, Vegas Odds & Expert Bets Canadiens vs. Lightning Game 4

After a dominant performance once again in Game 3, the Tampa Bay Lightning are one victory away from claiming their second straight Stanley Cup. Will they be able to close out this year’s Stanley Cup Final in a four-game sweep tonight? Or will the Montreal Canadiens have an answer on their home ice in Game 4? After all, the Habs have been the Cinderella story of these NHL playoffs. These Lightning vs. Canadiens NHL betting tips tonight and preview will explore the best NHL betting odds, provide some key betting trends and offer the top NHL picks and predictions for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

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NHL Picks: Lightning vs. Canadiens Betting Preview

Lightning vs. Canadiens Game Info

Tampa Bay Lightning (36-17-3, 75 pts) vs. Montreal Canadiens (24-21-11, 59 pts)
Date: Monday, July 5, 2021
Start Time: 8 p.m. EST
Venue: Centre Bell — Montreal, QC
Coverage: NBC

It didn’t take the Lightning long to gain an advantage last Friday night. After winning the first two games of this series at home, Tampa Bay quickly put the Montreal faithful into a state of dismay in Game 3. The Lightning wound up scoring a pair of goals in all three periods. Tyler Johnson finished with two tallies, while Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Blake Coleman and Jan Rutta all got in on the act as well. Ondrej Palat recorded a pair of assists to continue his strong series. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced to once again outduel his star counterpart. The strength and size advantages of the Lightning in this matchup have been very noticeable throughout this series.

Do the Canadiens have any magic left in their glass slipper? If so, it starts with Game 4 on their home ice tonight. Although, any magic really figures to hinge upon a rebound performance for goalie Carey Price. After a phenomenal run through the postseason, Price has faltered in these Stanley Cup Final. Any shot the Canadiens had of pulling off an upset as massive NHL betting underdogs rode on Price’s ability to limit the damage. After allowing five goals on 29 shots in Game 3, Price has now faltered in all three games. Perhaps Montreal can take some solace from the fact that they once again out-shot Tampa Bay. Phillip Danault, Corey Perry and Nick Suzuki were the three goal scorers on Friday. The Habs might very well need more than three if they are to begin a series comeback tonight.

[osBestBetsSingleGameOdds league=”nhl” date=”07/05/2021″ team=”canadiens”]

Lightning vs. Canadiens Betting NHL Picks + NHL Odds Shopping

Using Awesemo’s OddsShopper Tool, we can easily compare the NHL odds for Lightning vs. Canadiens Stanley Cup Final betting across the major sportsbooks. The odds outlined below are from 12 p.m. EST on July 5, so make sure to check out the OddsShopper tool yourself to get the most up-to-date odds.

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Lightning vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Trends

Lightning are 5-1 straight up in their last six games.
Canadiens are 11-5 straight up in their last 16 games but only 2-4 in their last six.
Canadiens are 5-2 straight up in their last seven home games.
Under is 4-2 in the Lightning’s last six games played on Monday.
Under is 9-4 in the Canadiens’ last 13 home games played on Monday.
Lightning are 7-0 straight up in their last seven head-to-head matchups against the Canadiens.

Lightning vs. Canadiens Prediction

Even though the mayor of Tampa Bay suggested that perhaps the Lightning should “take it easy” tonight so that they could win the Stanley Cup on their home ice, it’s hard to get excited about backing Montreal. If the Canadiens were going to get back in this series, it really needed to begin with a win last Friday. Now they are simply hanging on. The talent, size, depth and physicality of the Lightning have all done the Habs in. Add in the fact that Carey Price seems to have lost the magic with which he was playing throughout the postseason, and defeat is imminent for the Canadiens.

Bettors should steer clear of a side tonight and instead focus on the over/under line. Two of the three games have gone over, and tonight’s matchup figures to trend in the same direction. The one positive for Montreal has been their advantage in shots on goal in each of the last two games. If a few more of those get by Andrei Vasilevskiy, they will work in tandem with the Lightning’s offensive production to send Game 4 over five total goals.

Prediction: Over 5 (-130)

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