Montreal Canadiens vs. San Jose Sharks Prediction, NHL Odds
Both teams are looking to get back in the win column, as each sits in the bottom seven of the NHL standings.
With the trade deadline looming, both teams will be looking to put their remaining assets on display.
San Jose will be the -166 favourite to win on the NHL odds with the total sitting at the usual 6.5.
Canadiens vs. Sharks NHL Betting Odds
This will be the second and final meeting of the season between the Sharks and Habs after San Jose handed Montreal a 4-0 loss back in November. Logan Couture (1G 1A) and Tomas Hertl (2G) each had a two-point night, while Kaapo Kahkonen stopped all 28 shots for his only shutout of the season to date. One of these teams has been blanked in each of their past three meetings and they have kept the score under the total in each of their past four.
Montreal’s past 10 games have been high scoring, playing the Over seven times, including each of their past three matchups, putting their record against the total to 26-29-4. Despite icing a depleting lineup due to a long list of injuries, they have won five of their eight games this month and will be looking to end the month on a high note. Their recent stretch of hockey had them cover the spread six times in their last 10, bumping them to 31-28 ATS.
The Sharks have played the Over second most of anyone in the league so far, posting a 35-22-2 record on the total. They have broken this trend a bit lately though, playing the Under in eight of their past 10 games. San Jose has won just 18 games so far this season (lowest in NHL) but they have still covered the spread more than they have lost at 31-29 ATS.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens made a move over the weekend in preparation for the NHL’s trade deadline on Friday, March 3rd, moving 33-year-old Evgenii Dadonov to Dallas for fellow Russian, 25-year-old Denis Gurianov. Gurianov will be making his Habs debut Tuesday, wearing the number 25. He skated on the Canadiens’ third line in practice and took reps on the powerplay. The right-shot winger has only scored two goals and nine points in 43 games this season.
In Montreal’s most recent outing, they fell 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators. After going down 1-0 in the first period, back-to-back goals from Mike Matheson (4) and Nick Suzuki (20) gave them their only lead of the game, which did not last the entire period. Matheson’s goal extended his point streak to four games (2G 3A) as the Canadiens defenceman continues to carry the offence.
Sam Montembeault allowed five goals on just 22 shots. He and Jake Allen have been splitting starts over the past six games.
San Jose Sharks
After winning only one of their past five games, the San Jose Sharks finally decided to pull the trigger and send the biggest piece of trade bait, Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils days before the deadline. They collected a king’s ransom from the Devils, receiving a huge package that included forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson, two defensive prospects and first, second and seventh-round picks.
Their most recent loss came Saturday night at home versus the Chicago Blackhawks. They outshot Chicago 48-35 but only beat the Hawks netminder three times, falling 4-3 in a shootout. Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves on 35 shots, losing his third consecutive start.
Erik Karlsson (19) scored in the loss increasing his team lead in points to 77 on the year. After being surrounded by trade rumours all season, the 32-year-old defenceman is likely to now stay in San Jose after the deadline.
