7:30pm - Montreal +145 at Tampa Bay -155 O/U 5
After going up 3-0 in the series, the Lightning find themselves clinging to a 3-2 lead as we get set for tonight's game 6 at Amalie Arena.
In the last game played here, a 6-2 Canadiens win in game 4, G Ben Bishop was pulled early in the 2nd period after giving up 3 goals on 14 shots. Bishop played better in Saturday's 2-1 loss, stopping 27 of 29 shots, but he has to be thinking about the game 4 debacle.
Montreal continues to ride G Carey Price who, except for a 6-2 loss at home in game 2, has been spectacular. I expect the same tonight, but the Habs must score in order to force a game 7. They've been spreading the scoring around pretty good when they do tally, but they'll need good performances from the likes of D P.K. Subban, F Max Pacioretty and F Brendan Gallagher if they are to continue on.
Tampa Bay will be without F Ryan Callahan as he had an emergency appendectomy on Monday which isn't a huge deal, but will certainly take away some depth. Luckily for the Lightning, F Tyler Johnson leads the playoffs with 8 goals and F Steven Stamkos has heated up with 7 points including 2 goals.
My biggest concern with this game is Bishop. If he plays well it should be a low scoring game, something like 1-0 or 2-1. I am fairly confident his counterpart, Price, will be fine. However, after getting pulled in the last home game I can't be confident he'll play well. Clearly, the Canadiens have the momentum and with the question mark surrounding Bishop I must go with Montreal here.
Montreal 2 Tampa Bay 1
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