Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/19/26

The Montreal Canadiens will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Canadiens finished the season 4^th in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens also had the best form away from home with 56 points through 41 away games. On the season, they were averaging 3.40 goals per game while allowing 3.06 goals per game. The Canadiens managed to score despite ranking 24^th in total shots, partly due to 56 goals on the power play. This incredible power play unit could come up big in this series as the Lightning rank 3^rd for most power play opportunities against them.

For the Lightning, they finished 3^rd in the Eastern Conference. On the season, they averaged 3.49 goals per game while allowing just 2.79 goals per game. The defense for the Lightning has been huge this year, allowing only 229 goals all season. Overall, this should be a great series between teams that split the regular season series. In this one, I am trusting the Canadiens offense to get the best of the Lightning defense with the power play having an impact. I am taking the Canadiens on the money line.

Canadiens vs. Lightning Prediction: Canadiens ML (+160) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.