Tampa Bay Lightning vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction: Betting on a clean win for the favorite

Prediction for the NHL match which will take place on January 1. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Tampa Bay is not living up to expectations in this campaign. With 39 points, the team is only in fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings, meaning they are out of the playoff picture. They urgently need to improve. But instead, the Lightning have lost their previous two games. First, it was 2:3 from Florida, then 1:5 from the Rangers.

Montreal, by the way, looks a little worse than Tampa Bay. They currently have 35 points, with which they are located on the sixth line in the Atlantic Division standings. Of course, it's hard to believe in the Canadiens getting into the playoffs, but anything can happen. They recently had a great streak where they scored points in five straight games. But then Montreal lost two games in a row - 3:5 to Carolina and 1:4 to Florida.

We believe that Tampa Bay will be able to formalize a victory in this meeting. The teams are close at the table, but their class and ambitions are still noticeably different. If the Lightning must make the playoffs, the Canadiens will be forgiven for not doing so. Moreover, Montreal has lost four of their past five head-to-head meetings - that says a lot. We suggest not to make anything up and bet on a clean win for the favorite.