Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction: Expect a victory for the White and Blue

Prediction for the NHL match which will take place on November 8. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Montreal has been the outsider of the league in recent years, but the Canadian team has a good level of hockey players who continue to progress. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, we can expect them not only to make the playoffs but also to fight for higher places. The debut of the current regular season only confirmed this, as the Canadiens only twice went scoreless in their opening nine games, losing to Minnesota and New Jersey 2:5 each, losing a couple more times outside of regulation time and winning five times. It wasn't until after that that they had a bit of a slump, as they lost to Arizona and St. Louis, 2:3 and 3:6, respectively, slipping to tenth place in the Eastern Conference.

Tampa Bay is a team that recently won the Stanley Cup twice in a row, after which many hockey players have already left, but several players remain. Therefore, the Lightning are still contenders for the trophy. In last year's playoffs, they were eliminated in the first round, but this local failure should benefit them, as they reenergized, got a long rest, and now be hungry for victories again. In 12 regular-season games, the team has won five, lost four times outside of regulation time, and three times have been held scoreless, leaving them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Montreal and Tampa Bay are close to each other in the Eastern Conference standings, but the class of the teams is seriously different. While the Canadiens have been in the league's underdog group for the past few years, the Lightning have played in the final three times in the last four playoffs. The head-to-head statistics are also in favor of the Blue and White, according to which they have won three of the last four meetings, each time in regulation time. The Canadian club had a good season debut but lost the last three games.

Tampa Bay, in the debut of the current regular season, has to play without Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is now healing the effects of injury and previously cleaned up the mistakes of the defense. Still, now the Lightning do not have such a savior, and therefore, they concede a lot and have to score even more than before. In total, the Blue and White have already had 87 shots on goal in 12 games (7.25 average per game), and in three of the last four meetings, they've scored and conceded at least three goals each.