Arena: Bell Centre.
Game 3. The score in the series is 0-2.
Montreal have lost to Tampa Bay in their last six head-to-head meetings 8:22. Will Dominique Ducharme’s men be able to break their losing streak? We believe that the Lightning will be stronger again!
Montreal’s current form
Montreal are already a hero of Canada, who managed to reach the Stanley Cup final. Dominique Ducharme’s team had a good chance to be eliminated in the first round, losing to Toronto 1-3, but they not only won the series but also finished behind Winnipeg and Vegas. In the main game of the season, alas, the Canadiens find themselves without a credible challenge for the reigning champion, losing both away games by a combined score of 2-8, but Montreal have nothing to lose and have already shown what they can do.
Tampa Bay’s current form
Tampa Bay are the most powerful team in the NHL at the moment. They’ve been on the road for several years, suffering upsetting playoff losses, but that has allowed them to gain much-needed cup experience, which is what allows them to succeed now. John Cooper’s men had given up two wins each in the first three legs of the current playoff series, but they never felt on the brink of relegation and so their qualification to the final was eminently logical. Also, they easily won two main games 5-1 and 3-1 and were just two away from their second straight Stanley Cup title.
Expert Betting Tips
This season’s final Stanley Cup clash is turning out to be very one-sided, as Montreal and Tampa Bay are very different teams. Even the excellent Carey Price is inferior to Andrei Vasilevskiy in his rivalry, and in the other lines, the Lightning are much better. That’s why they won their opening two meetings by a combined score of 8-2, moving closer to defending the title. Yes, the Canadiens are a very distinctive team, but that’s not enough here, so we advise betting on a Tampa Bay win for 2.30.
Montreal are far from the most reliable team in the league in terms of defence. For Tampa Bay, opening up the Canadiens’ defensive structure is not a very difficult task, as they have already managed to beat such teams as Carolina and the Islanders on their way to the Stanley Cup final, where the defence is indeed in full order. That’s why Peter DeBoer’s charges have already hit the opponent’s goal eight times in the two opening meetings, and a change of location shouldn’t change the situation. With that in mind, Tampa Bay’s Individual Total Over 2.5 pucks at odds close to 1.90 would seem to be a good bet.
Nikita Kucherov is having another phenomenal season and is close to his playoff record. Yes, he missed the entire regular season, but he has 30 points (7 goals + 23 assists) in 20 Stanley Cup games played, seven points more than his closest pursuer in the scoring race. It is important to note that the Russian did not score in the second game, so now he will be extremely motivated, so a bet on Nikita Kucherov’s goal with odds of around 2.90 should be considered.
Other predictions
