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Updated Stanley Cup Final Odds Offer Canadiens at +1700 After Game 3 Loss to Lightning

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NHL Hockey

Updated Jul 3, 2021 · 6:11 AM PDT

Tampa Bay players celebrate with their goalie
Montreal Canadiens right wing Corey Perry (94) skates off the ice as Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is greeted by teammates after the third period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. The Lightning won 3-1. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack)
  • The Montreal Canadiens are at odds of +1700 to win the Stanley Cup following their 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3
  • Tampa Bay, up 3-0 in the best-of-seven set, are given overwhelming -5000 odds to win the Cup for a second straight season
  • Montreal hasn’t been swept in a Stanley Cup final series since 1952 — see below for wagers you may want to consider

Any way you do that math, it adds up for the Tampa Bay Lightning and spells doom for the Montreal Canadiens. Three games into the Stanley Cup final, the Lightning are up 3-0 on the Canadiens.

A 6-3 victory in Game 3, the first of the series to be played at Montreal’s Bell Centre, created a stranglehold on the set in favor of the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning. Tampa Bay has never lost a series when ahead 3-0. Montreal has never come back to win a series when trailing 3-0.

Oddsmakers also recognize the futility of Montreal’s situation. The Canadiens are now listed at odds of +1700 to win the Stanley Cup final series. The Bolts are the overwhelming odds-on-5000 chalk to carry off Lord Stanley’s mug for the second year in a row.

 Canadiens vs Lightning Series Odds

Team Odds at DraftKings
Montreal Canadiens +1700
Tampa Bay Lightning -5000

Odds as of July 3rd

There’s a two-day break in the action before Game 4 is slated to be played on Monday, July 5th at 8pm ET at the Bell Centre. NBC will carry the Game 4 broadcast.

Bad Hab-its Doing In Canadiens

Slow starts. Costly turnovers. Suspect goaltending. There’s been a familar pattern in place in all three of Montreal’s defeats in this series.

Netminder Carey Price is a key factor in Montreal getting this far in the playoffs. However, in the biggest games of the season, he’s been fighting the puck. And when a goalie fights the puck, they always come out the loser in that bout.

Price’s save percentage in Game 3 was .828. It marked the eighth successive game against the Lightning in which he’s posted a save percentage below .900. Price is 0-9 in his last nine decisions when facing Tampa Bay. The Canadiens outshot Tampa Bay in each of the past two games and lost both contests.

YouTube video

Montreal surrendered two goals in the first 3:27 of the game and two more in the opening 3:33 of the second period.

The first Lightning goal was the result of winger Josh Anderson losing a pair of puck battles along the boards in the Montreal end. The third Tampa Bay tally resulted from a bad Montreal line change that led to a 2-on-0 Lightning break.

Prior to Game 3, the Canadiens were 11-0 in the playoffs when scoring more than two goals.

Props Worth Considering

At the current series betting lines, it’s pointless to wager on Tampa Bay to win and fruitless to make a play on the Canadiens bouncing back. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t Cup final series wagers that aren’t worth a look.

Montreal hasn’t been swept in a Stanley Cup final series since the Detroit Red Wings did it to them in 1951-52. There hasn’t been a sweep in any Stanley Cup final since Detroit took Washington out 4-0 in 1998.

DraftKings is offering an exact series outcome prop wager on the Stanley Cup final series. The Bolts are -157 to sweep the series. However, if you think the Habs have it in them to stave off elimination on home ice in Game 4, perhaps a play on Tampa Bay in five games at +250 is the way to play it.

Or you could make a wager on the total games in the series going over 4.5 at odds of +125.

In a history that dates back to 1909, the Habs have only ever lost a Stanley Cup final series on home ice once,  to the Calgary Flames in 1989.

Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy has won 11 straight games against Montreal. He’s poised to join Mike Vernon, Terry Sawchuk, Turk Broda and Hap Holmes as the only goalies to beat the Canadiens in a Stanley Cup final series.

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