Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens begin a weekend home-and-home series on Saturday night up in La Belle Province.
The Penguins continue a free-fall down the Eastern Conference standings as they’ve now lost seven consecutive games and sit outside the playoff picture. Montreal’s stayed toward the top of a cluttered conference, entering Saturday just one point out of first in the Atlantic Division. Saturday’s the last of four straight home games for the Canadiens, who are 2-1 on the homestand so far.
Puck drop at the Bell Centre goes at 7 p.m. EST, with Montreal a -145 moneyline favourite and the over-under at six on the NHL odds.
Penguins vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
Montreal might be who the Penguins want to see in order to get out of this slump. Pittsburgh is 6-1 in their last seven meetings with Montreal, and the Penguins have averaged over four goals per game in their last 10 games against the Habs. Five of the last six Penguins–Canadiens contests played in Montreal have finished over the total.
Montreal’s still looking to improve a mediocre home record too as with a win on Thursday they officially climbed back to .500 at 9-9-1. The over is 12-6-1 in Montreal home games this season but lately they’ve trended under, with four of their last six at home going under and also four of their last five overall. Montreal is also 1-9 outright in their last 10 outings against the Metropolitan Division.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired goalie Stuart Skinner for a reason, which is a shakeup was needed in net. Over this seven-game skid, Pittsburgh’s allowed at least four goals in every loss. Skinner’s only played once since being acquired via trade last week, and it’s safe to assume Saturday will be his second start in the black and yellow. Skinner’s .887 save percentage isn’t much of an upgrade in Pittsburgh but like the case in Edmonton, it was time for change.
What the Penguins don’t need to change is their offensive game. Although they were shutout at Ottawa on Thursday, the Penguins had scored four goals in each of their three prior outings. This is all with Evgeni Malkin missing the last seven games, ironically when this losing streak began. The good news for Pittsburgh is Malkin, Blake Lizotte and Filip Hallander all skated this week and they could provide a much-needed boost if any return this weekend.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are consistently inconsistent as of late. They alternated wins and losses during their past six games, and all of the first three games of this homestand have all been 4-1 scores. Montreal was on the right side of the 4-1 score on Thursday versus Chicago as Late Hutson led the way on the scoresheet with a trio of assists. The sophomore defenceman is now the third Canadiens skater to reach 30 points on the season, joining Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Suzuki had a big night on Thursday with a goal and an assist. Caufield’s hit a bit of a slump as he’s gone four games without a goal, but still leads the team with 17 this season.
Goalie Samuel Montembeault is currently on a conditioning assignment in the AHL, which indicates it should be Jakub Dobes between the pipes on Saturday and Jacob Fowler on Sunday. Dobes is 12-5-2 this season with a team-best .893 save percentage.
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