Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
Any kind of point gets Montreal into the post-season, while a regulation loss puts their fate into the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. A three-game skid has prevented Montreal from clinching a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs; Montreal’s yet to qualify for the playoffs since the 2020–21 season, a season in which they reached the Cup Final.
The Carolina Hurricanes are stuck in second place in the Metropolitan Division, and a looming first-round playoff matchup with the New Jersey Devils. And while this may be a reach, for the “Carolina doesn’t have anything to play for” crowd, a win at Montreal would keep the door open for the Hurricanes to pass Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference — meaning home-ice over Tampa Bay is still possible, if Carolina were to face them down the road.
Puck drop at the Bell Centre goes at 7 p.m. EDT with the oddsmakers listing this match as a pick’em and the over-under at six on the NHL odds.
Hurricanes vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
Wednesday decides the season series between Carolina and Montreal. These teams’ first meeting this season went to Montreal via a 4-0 victory on February 25, and the Canes returned the favour with a 4-1 win on March 28. Montreal’s win was their lone victory over Carolina in these teams’ last 11 meetings. Five of the last six Hurricanes–Canadiens contests have resulted in Carolina multi-goal victories.
The good news for Montreal is the Hurricanes struggle big time on the road. Carolina is just 16-19-4 in away games this season and do not have a road victory since March 23. Montreal’s 9-2 in their last 11 overall on home ice.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are limping into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with just one win in their last six outings. Carolina’s been off since Sunday, and this road tilt at Montreal marks the beginning of a regular-season-concluding back-to-back. The goalie tandem of Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen will almost certainly split these two games; the duo’s been alternating starts for the nearly the past three months as Carolina has to figure out who’s going in Game 1 of the playoffs. Andersen’s got to be the front-runner, with a team-best .907 save percentage this season and over 70 playoff games in his career.
The other issue in Carolina is consistent scoring. The Hurricanes are a top-10 scoring club in the NHL (3.24 goals per game) but have gone cold as of late. Outside of a 7-3 win on Saturday, Carolina’s scored one or zero goals in three of their last five outings. That has to change with their two outings in the next 48 hours.
Montreal Canadiens
All the hype around Ivan Demidov’s NHL debut couldn’t get Montreal a crucial two points on Monday, and here the Canadiens are still fighting to clinch a playoff spot. To be fair, the 2024 fifth overall pick delivered with a goal and an assist in the first period. Demidov skated with Alex Newhook and Joel Armia on the Habs third line and also played D-man on the second power-play unit.
Captain Nick Suzuki has been Mr. Clutch all season for the Canadiens and they need him in their regular season finale. Suzuku’s gone two games without a point, while leading goal-scorer Cole Caufield has now gone three games without finding the back of the net. Sam Montembeault should get the start in net, reaching 60 starts for the first time in his career.
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