Tampa Bay Lightning vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction 3/31/26 NHL Picks Today

The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Tuesday in NHL action from the Benchmark International Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning prediction.

Montreal Canadiens Recap

The Montreal Canadiens come into this game looking to add on to their 3-1 win over Carolina last time out to sit at 42-21-10 this season. After this game, Montreal will head on the road again for a game against the New York Rangers.

Canadiens Win 5 Straight

Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 91 points including 26 goals and 65 assists while Cole Caufield has 79 points with a team-high 46 goals and 33 assists. Lane Hutson has 73 points with a team-high 62 assists while Ivan Demidov has 57 points with 16 goals and 41 assists. Noah Dobson has 46 points with 34 assists and Mike Matheson has 34 points with 6 goals and 28 assists. Oliver Kapanen has 37 points with 22 goals and 15 assists while Zack Bolduc has 28 points with 11 goals and 17 assists. Sam Montembault has gone 10-8-4 with a 3.43 GAA and an .872 save percentage in goal for the Canadiens while Jakub Dobes is 25-8-4 with a 2.78 GAA and a .900 save percentage. Jacob Fowler is also 7-5-2 with a 2.59 GAA and an .903 save percentage for the Habs this season.

Why the Montreal Canadiens will win

• The Canadiens have won eight of their last nine games as underdogs.
• The Lightning have lost three of their last four games as favorites against opponents on a winning streak.
• The Canadiens have covered the puck line in each of their last 22 games as underdogs.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last three games following a win.

Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts

• Juraj Slafkovsky has scored the first goal in four of the Canadiens’ last five road games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• Cole Caufield has scored at least one goal in each of his last five appearances with the Canadiens as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
• Lane Hutson has recorded at least one assist in each of the Canadiens’ last eight games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
• Cole Caufield ranks T1st in the league for Game Winning Goals (10) this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recap

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to build on their 3-2 win over Nashville last time out to sit at 46-21-6 this season. After this game, Tampa Bay will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at home.

Lightning Win Back-To-Back Games

Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 121 points including 40 goals and 81 assists while Brandon Hagel has 73 points with 35 goals and 38 assists and Jake Guentzel has 80 points with 35 goals and 45 assists. Anthony Cirelli has 49 points with 20 goals and 29 assists. Darren Raddysh has also added 66 points with 20 goals and 46 assists as well on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 35-12-4 with a 2.33 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Jonas Johansson is 11-9-2 with a 3.21 GAA and an .886 save percentage this season. 

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win

• The Lightning have won 15 of their last 17 home games against the Canadiens.
• The Canadiens have lost 14 of their last 16 night games at Benchmark International Arena.
• The Lightning have covered the puck line in four of their last five home games against Atlantic Division opponents.

Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts

• Nikita Kucherov has scored at least one goal in seven of his last eight appearances against the Canadiens.
• Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in each of the Lightning’s last 11 Tuesday home games.
• Nikita Kucherov ranks 1st in the league for multi-assist games (24) this season.

Total Goals Facts

• Eight of the last nine games between the Canadiens and Lightning have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Seven of the Canadiens’ last eight night games at Benchmark International Arena have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Seven of the last eight Tuesday night games between two teams from the Eastern Conference have gone UNDER the total goals line.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction

I’m going to take a shot on Montreal here. The Canadiens are playing really well right now, and while they’ve had issues winning in Tampa Bay in the past, I think they’ll battle here as they just went into Carolina and knocked off a tough Hurricanes team in their own building. Tampa Bay has been solid at home in their own right, but I think Montreal is where the value is here.