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The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning battle it out tonight in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. The puck drops just after 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
The Bolts are the big favorite, and deservedly so with their unending list of talent against the younger upstart Habs. But Carey Price has been phenomenal for the Canadiens in the playoffs, and they’ll likely need him to go toe-for-toe with the likely-Vezina winner Andrei Vasilevskiy to find a path to victory in the best-of-seven.
Canadiens vs. Lightning Game 1 betting splits
Canadiens ML (+165): 26% handle, 33% bets
Lightning ML (-195): 74% handle, 67% bets
Canadiens +1.5 (-165): 30% handle, 46% bets
Lightning -1.5 (+138): 70% handle, 54% bets
Over 5 goals (-122): 24% handle, 42% bets
Under 5 goals (+102): 76% handle, 58% bets
Whereas the Lightning will want this to be a shootout, the Canadiens will look to muck it up and potentially even trap before the blue line. The real key here might be the officiating, as if the penalties are fast and furious, that will certainly favor the Lightning, who have one of the best power plays in NHL history.
Your referees tonight are Dan O’Rourke and Francis Charron, who are pretty down the middle as far as whistles go. It’s the second-straight Final for both officials.
Pairing the Bolts with the over and the Habs with the under is very possibly the wise wagering move here. There aren’t too many scenarios where the Lightning don’t win if they score three times, and vice versa.
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