After a grueling seven-game series, the Tampa Bay Lightning have to get back on the horse in a hurry. They'll have to prepare on short notice for the Montreal Canadiens, the team which swept them out of the playoffs last season.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: Tampa Bay @ Montreal (5/1, 7:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Game 2: Tampa Bay @ Montreal (5/3, 6:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Game 3: Montreal @ Tampa Bay (5/6, 7:00 p.m. ET, USA)
Game 4: Montreal @ Tampa Bay (5/7, 7:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Game 5: Tampa Bay @ Montreal (5/9, Time & Network TBD, If Necessary)
Game 6: Montreal @ Tampa Bay (5/12, Time & Network TBD, If Necessary)
Game 7: Tampa Bay @ Montreal (5/14, Time & Network TBD, If Necessary)
ODDS ANALYSIS
The oddsmakers are insinuating to you that Montreal, in spite of the fact that it has home ice advantage, isn't the better team in this series. The series is priced out at a pick 'em at -110 on each side, the first time we have seen that in these playoffs. Every game is going to have a huge impact and swing on the betting odds for sure.
KEY PLAYERS
Ben Bishop wasn't in the pipes for the Lightning last year in the playoffs, but he was for five games in the regular season against the Habs. The end result from each? The Bolts went 0-4 in the playoffs without Bishop against Montreal, but they went 5-0-0 in the regular season when he was out there.
Bishop was fantastic in Game 7, stopping every shot he faced against the Red Wings, and he has to be brimming with confidence, even going up against the man who is likely going to win the Vezina Trophy this year in Carey Price.
P.K. Subban is the man who could be the difference-maker for Montreal. He really brought the boom last year in the opening round against Tampa Bay, and he is going to surely do so again. The Lightning have had problems this year on the penalty kill against teams which just throw a ton of pucks at the net, and that's Subban's specialty. Don't be stunned if he has a huge series once again.
KEY STATS
0: The number of goals that Steven Stamkos scored in the seven-game series against Detroit. It's also the number of goals that Ryan Callahan had as well. These two men had 67 total goals in the regular season, and each is going to have to be much better if the Lightning is to advance into the Eastern Conference Finals.
1: The number of power play goals which the Habs scored in the opening round of the playoffs against Ottawa. There was a lot of threatening but not a lot of scoring, though we have a feeling that the Canadiens will be in better shape against Tampa Bay's aggressive forechecking kill than Ottawa's more conservative, packed in kill.
ANALYSIS & PREDICTION
We think the oddsmakers just flat out got this one wrong. Montreal is the better of these two teams, and it is the more playoff-ready team. It sure looks like we are on a path towards a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals from a year ago, and we think that Montreal will do its part by being the more physical team.
If Tampa Bay can't get its top scorers going, it's going to be a really short series as well, as we still think that Bishop is going to end up being on the short end of the goalie battle by a comfortable margin.
Montreal Canadiens in 5 games
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