Chicago Blackhawks vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
Chicago will make their second stop of a four-game road trip north of the border for a Valentine’s date with their original six-partner. Both of these historic teams are in the midst of a season to forget, sitting at the bottom of their respective divisions.
The Canadiens have won six more games, making them the -147 favourite to win on the NHL odds. The total sits at 6.5, with 74 per cent of early bettors taking the Over.
Blackhawks vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
This will be the second and final meeting of the season between the Hawks and the Habs after the Canadiens beat Chicago 3-2 via a shootout back in November. Kirby Dach took home the honour of the game’s first star, ending the night with the shootout winner versus his old club.
Considering these two squads are in the bottom five in league scoring, it should come as no surprise that all of their past eight matchups have played the Under. In their past 16 meetings, dating way back to 2011, the Blackhawks have beaten the Canadiens 10 times.
Chicago played the Under in their most recent outing, scoring just a single goal in a 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. They have covered the spread twice in their past six games both times in winning efforts, dropping them to 23-28 ATS on the year.
The Canadiens have been a completely different team over their past three games, scoring at least four goals in each game (up from their 2.6 average), while hitting the Over and covering the spread. For a squad that has only won 22 of its 53 games played, they boast an impressive 28-25 record against the spread. Their record on the Over/Under this season is 22-27-4 and icing an almost AHL-level roster has helped them play the Over four times in their past five games.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Hawks were held to just a single goal on Saturday night as they were handled by the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-1 loss.
After a scoreless first period, the Jets scored three goals in the second period before Tyler Johnson (6) responded with Chicago’s lone goal two minutes into the third. It was assisted by Jason Dickinson and Jake McCabe. Dickinson’s assist was his fifth point (3G, 2A) in his past five games.
Goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped 24 of 27 shots, taking his fifth loss in a row as his horrendous first season continues in Chicago. The 31-year-old has won just five of his 21 games played this season while posting a .885 save percentage with a 3.95 goals-against average.
Surrounded by trade speculation, long-time Hawks superstars Patrick Kane and Johnathan Toews await the NHL’s trade deadline to decide their fate. It would make it much easier for management if the pair would pick up their play over the next two and a half weeks, as they are not worth their 10.5 million dollar price tag.
Montreal Canadiens
An extremely banged-up Montreal Canadiens club has now won back-to-back games after crushing the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Sunday afternoon. Jordan Harris became the first Habs rookie defenceman to score two goals in a game since P.K Subban back in 2011.
The 31-year-old Alex Belzile opened the scoring with his first career goal halfway through the first period. The good vibes kept rolling for the team as Rafael Havery-Pinard (6), Josh Anderson (15) and Christian Dvorak (8) would all score in the Canadiens’ best offensive game since October 29.
Goalie Jake Allen played his best game of 2023 allowing just two goals on 31 shots against the highest-scoring team in the NHL.
Harvey-Pinard has been on fire since getting recalled from AHL Laval. He now has picked up eight points (6G 2A) in nine games.
The bad news coming out of the win was the loss of rookie defenceman Arber Xhekaj who left the game and did not return after getting into a fight at the midway mark of the second period. He is one of seven Canadiens out with injury right now.
CHI
MON