ScoresandStats.com Latest Sports Previews

The Tampa Bay Lightning are under no false illusions after losing the opening clash of their Eastern Conference first-round series. The Lightning were not good enough and expect much better of themselves when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday. Montreal claimed the opener 4-3 in overtime thanks to a trio of power-play goals — all by Juraj Slafkovsky, including the winner — while the more experienced Lightning were guilty of too many ill-timed and unnecessary infractions. “I’m confident in this room,” Lightning forward Nick Paul said after Monday’s practice. “That’s one game.” Both teams staked and then surrendered leads due to special teams. Tampa Bay scored twice with the man advantage.

The Boston Celtics will strive to build on a dominant playoff-opening rout of Philadelphia when they host the 76ers for Game 2 on Tuesday. The Celtics, the Eastern Conference’s second seed, pounced on Philadelphia in Sunday’s Game 1 matchup behind the star tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown scored 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor, while Tatum — playing in just his 17th overall game since returning last month from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon — finished with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished seven assists. “Just the opportunity to play again here (in Boston) in the playoffs is special,” Tatum said. “It’s something I’ll never take for granted.” Tatum and his Celtics

Fiorentina head to Via del Mare on Monday for a Serie A Matchweek 33 match that carries real weight at the bottom of the table. Lecce come into the round in 18th place, while Fiorentina sit 15th, so this is not some quiet lower-table game with nothing attached to it. Lecce are chasing survival, Fiorentina are trying to create separation from the mess below them, and that usually makes for a tense price-sensitive betting spot. The match kicks off at 6:45 p.m. UTC in Lecce. The recent form line is not hard to read. Lecce have dropped four of their last five league matches and, maybe more importantly, they have not scored since mid-March. Fiorentina are not exactly dominant, but

West Ham head to Selhurst Park on Monday night for a Matchweek 33 London derby that matters a lot more to the visitors than the table might suggest at first glance. Crystal Palace come in 13th on 42 points from 31 league matches, while West Ham sit 17th on 32 points from 32 matches, only one point above Tottenham and the relegation zone line. Palace are clear of the survival fight and still have room to climb, but West Ham are playing with immediate pressure on every sequence. There is another layer here, too. Palace are balancing league play with Europe after reaching the UEFA Conference League semi-finals, and they did it after a demanding two-leg quarter-final against Fiorentina. West