Tampa Bay vs Montreal: Lightning won’t have time to bounce back from the series with the Islanders

The 2021 NHL season has reached its climax. The final series kicks off on June 29 in Tampa Bay, Florida. The local Lightning will defend the title, with the Montreal Canadiens in contention. The Canadian team could bring the Stanley Cup to the Maple Leaf country for the first time since 1993. Will the Canadiens pull off the feat? Here are a few bets on the first game of the series.

The Lightning expectedly reached the Stanley Cup final for the second year in a row. There is simply no team in the NHL right now that is guaranteed to stop a brilliant team under John Cooper. The New York Islanders made it to Game 7 in the semi-finals but failed to break through Andrei Vasilevskiy in the decisive moment. The Tampa Bay goalie achieved his fourth shutout of the playoffs. Yanni Gourde scored the winning goal.

Tampa’s Russian goaltender was a powerhouse in general. Vasilevskiy set an NHL record with his seventh consecutive shutout against the Islanders. The goalie ended his fourth consecutive playoff series with a shutout.

Hardly anyone was expecting the Canadiens in the final series, but the team, led by Dominique Ducharme as the championship progressed, did the unbelievable. Bounced back in the series with Toronto from 1-3, destroyed Winnipeg 4-0, and then dropped Vegas 4-2. If only it were Colorado in the place of the Golden Knights... But the Lightning’s dream final against the Avalanche is postponed for now. Although the Canadian-American clash is also cool! Especially since Montreal became the first Canadian team to win an NHL season series since 2011 when Boston lost to Vancouver.

As with Tampa, Montreal’s goaltending was particularly noteworthy. Carey Price is having one of the best seasons of his career and will be making his first appearance in the final series. Price has 12 wins in 17 games, 93.4% of his saves and a 2.02 conceding rate.

The series is unlikely to be long. Tampa Bay are the clear favourite here and will act immediately. Also, the series is unlikely to be productive. A huge role in both teams is played by goalies, probably the best in the world at the moment. The first match will set the tone. A Lightning win here is not worth taking. John Cooper’s team after Game 7 against the Islanders may not have time to finally bounce back. So Montreal will even have a chance to take the series lead.

• Total Under 5 for 1.81;
• Draw in regulation time for 4.50;
• Montreal to win with a handicap (0) for 2.71.