Canadiens vs. Lightning Game 1 prediction: Stanley Cup Playoffs odds, picks, best bets

For the first time in the modern NHL playoff era, we’ll get a Stanley Cup Final rematch in the first round: the Lightning and Canadiens, who battled for the Cup in the 2021 COVID-19 season.The Lightning, whom FanDuel is heavily favoring in Game 1 at -192, look to have a smoother playoff road without the Panthers in their way this year.All that losing to Florida helped shape a more physical Tampa Bay identity, with the Lightning finishing as the league leader in penalty minutes this season.Montreal’s team of young guns returns to the playoffs for a second-straight year after seemingly being neck-deep in a rebuild at the beginning of last season.

That’s a positive in itself as Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield had career seasons while Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov all took steps forward in their respective arcs. On home ice with a significant experience edge, Tampa is primed to set the tone in this series early after first-round exits in back-to-back seasons.Aside from motives, there are bigger separators in play, beginning with Tampa’s ability to suppress chances. The Bolts survived a myriad of injuries to their defensive rotation throughout the season and still finished third overall in goals-against rate and on the penalty kill.Montreal’s success path is too dependent on its top line.

Its two wins against Tampa Bay in the last couple of weeks were on the backs of Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky.That trio will have their hands full facing Jon Cooper’s line-matching, backed by an elite blueline and defensive forward depth that shuts down 5-on-5 offense.The goaltending disparity is stark.

Andrei Vasilevskiy brings 10 years of playoff experience, including two Cups and a Conn Smythe to the crease.Montreal’s three-headed platoon combines for five games of playoff experience and an .871 save percentage — all of which played in last year’s first-round exit. Tampa went 33-1-0 when leading after two periods and 24-5-1 when leading after...