Game 47: Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Lightning region: FanDuel Sports Network Sun
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
When the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens met for the first time this season back on December 29, it was an important game because the Canadiens were nine points behind their Atlantic Division rival and needed to make up some ground on a team that was, at the time, holding the first wild-card spot in the conference. The Canadiens ended up winning that game rather comfortably and have have continued to rack up points since. As the teams meet again three weeks later, the gap is down to just three points, and tonight’s game is no less critical.
Head coach Jon Cooper sees the danger creeping up behind him. He got burned the first time by playing Andrei Vasilevskiy versus the New York Rangers the day before the game versus Montreal, betting against the wrong team that weekend. This time, he sent out backup Jonas Johansson to face the Toronto Maple Leafs first, recognizing that the threat of the charging Canadiens was more important than trying to close the gap to the division-leading Leafs.
Now the coach’s decision has to pay off because, despite expending a lot of effort trying to win the game last night, the Lightning lost in regulation, seeing the Leafs pull further ahead and the Habs the same distance back in the rearview mirror. He’s not going to find any sympathy for his tired team from a Canadiens squad that has played more than its fair share of back-to-backs, just completing one two days ago with a win over the Rangers. The Habs see a vulnerable opponent, and a chance to tighten up the race to a post-season place even more.
Canadiens | Statistics | Lightning |
---|---|---|
23-19-4 | Record | 25-16-3 |
48.8% (23rd) | Scoring-chances-for % | 51.4% (10th) |
3.04 (13th) | Goals per game | 3.64 (1st) |
3.33 (26th) | Goals against per game | 2.82 (11th) |
20.4% (18th) | PP% | 27.5% (4th) |
81.3% (12th) | PK% | 81.7% (9th) |
1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-1-0 |
Weakened they may be, but it’s still a dangerous team with a lot of skill, and the Habs will know it takes the full 60 minutes if they want to beat the Lightning for a second time. Despite Tampa Bay’s proximity to the rising teams in the playoff chase, their numbers are among the league’s best across the board, whether they be offensive of defensive numbers you look at.
Their issue has been prolonged drops in form among generally lopsided wins. They have two four-game losing streaks this season, just pulling out of one that began win the loss to Montreal, and a couple of other sequences losing three times within a four-game span. Montreal will try to do its part to turn this week’s into another one of those sequences.
Special teams are always something you need to be wary of when playing the Lightning, a team capable or striking whenever an opponent ends up in the penalty box. The Canadiens, who had been doing well in that situation through the opening half of the season, have suddenly begun to have difficulty defending while down a man. They’ve allowed opponents to score eight power-play goals in the past nine games after allowing just 22 of them in the first 35 games. They can’t allow Tampa Bay to score a couple of goals in the easiest minutes of the game tonight if they want to claim the vital two points on offer.