The Tampa Bay Lightning are close to securing a second consecutive Stanley Cup win with only one more victory needed over the Montreal Canadiens.
Bookmaker Bovada has the odds at -160 for the Bolts to close the deal in Game 4 while you can back Montreal with the odds at +140. The odds for over 5.0 goals are at -135 and for under 5.0 goals at +115.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 4th, 8:00 P.M. (EST)
The Lightning have rushed to a 3-0 lead in the series thanks to a hot offense and with very solid work in the defensive zone. The combined score stands at 14-5 in their favor through three games.
Jon Cooper’s team picked up a blowout win straight away in Game 1 with a 5-1 scoreline and they haven’t looked back. Montreal outshot them 43-23 in Game 2, but goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall and a 3-1 victory looked easy for the Lightning in the end.
The Canadiens finally got some decent offense in Game 3 with three goals, but the defending champions still held their nerve and triumphed 6-3.
The Bolts now have a chance to become the first team since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings to sweep a Stanley Cup Finals series. It would be the 21st time ever it’s happened. They could also be the first team to never trail in the final since 1960.
Montreal has been this year’s surprise package throughout the playoffs, but you would’ve still expected them to be a lot more competitive. They showed a lot of grit and character against their first three opponents, even erasing a 3-1 deficit in the opening round against Toronto, but it seems like their magic has run out.
Their offense has been really stale and according to reports, head coach Dominique Ducharme has made the team go through only power-play routines at practice ahead of Game 4. Goaltender Carey Price has started to struggle at a very bad time as well.
Price has been one of Montreal’s top performers during the postseason, but he’s so far posted a .835 save percentage in the finals. He has to be back to his best on Monday for the team to stand a chance.
The Canadiens will be backed by a passionate home crowd at the Bell Centre, but Tampa has won five of the last six trips to Montreal. Their overall record in the head-to-head series is even more impressive with 14 wins from the last 16 meetings.
