Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames Prediction, NHL Odds
Calgary breathed new life into their dwindling playoff hopes and gained some valuable ground in the standings with a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. The Flames sit six points back of Montreal for the final playoff spot in the North Division and with these teams meeting twice more over the next few days, there’s four crucial points up for grabs for both teams.
Calgary is a slim -126 favourite to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Canadiens vs. Flames Betting Analysis
The Flames have the edge in the season series with five wins in seven games, including winning all three games played in the Saddledome. Friday’s game was the first time the Over has hit between these teams this year.
The road hasn’t been kind to Montreal this year. The Habs are 4-11 straight up in their last 15 road games and they’re 3-7 SU in their last 10 games overall. It also hasn’t paid well to rely on them to cover, as they’re 19-26 against the spread overall and have failed to cover in seven of their last 10 games. The Canadiens have been an Under team in four of their last six games.
Calgary 11-5 SU in their last 16 home games against Montreal and they’re 5-1 SU in their last six games against the Habs overall. The Flames are 21-25 ATS and have covered in six of their last 10 games. Calgary has been an Under team in four of their last six games.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal is skidding at the worst possible time. Friday’s result was their third loss in their last four games and they haven’t won consecutive games since a three-game winning streak March 20-April 1. Joel Armia and Tyler Toffoli picked up the goals for the Habs. Toffoli leads the team in points (34) and goals (24). The Montreal sniper has scored four times in his last five games and he’s tied for sixth in NHL goals.
The goaltending situation is the biggest thing worth monitoring for this game. Carey Price is due to miss about a week with a concussion and Jake Allen’s 27-save performance on Friday was his eighth start in Montreal’s last nine games. With this being a back-to-back situation, 21-year-old Cayden Primeau could earn his first NHL start of the season and just the third start of his career on Saturday. Primeau has an 11-3-0 record this season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket and has posted a 2.07 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.
Calgary Flames
The Flames continue to stay alive in the playoff race and another win on Saturday would go a long way to closing the gap with Montreal in the standings. Sean Monahan was the hero for Calgary on Friday. Monahan finished with a goal and two assists, scoring the game-winning goal at 5:58 of the third period. Andrew Mangiapane, Dillon Dube and Elias Lindholm had the other Flames’ markers. Dube’s goal broke a 15-game drought. Lindholm leads the team with 40 points (14G, 26A) in 46 games and he has put up nine points (5G, 4A) on a seven-game point streak. Johnny Gaudreau set up the winning goal to record an assist for the third straight game. Gaudreau has a team-high 15 goals on the season and has picked up seven points (2G, 5A) over his last six games.
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