The Montreal Canadiens have played overtime in their first two games of a long road trip and make their lone visit of the season to Dallas on Friday night. The Stars are huge favourites on the NHL odds.

Canadiens vs. Stars NHL Betting Odds

Because of the “bomb cyclone” hitting the United States on this holiday weekend, note that two NHL games on Friday have been postponed: Tampa Bay at Buffalo and Detroit at Ottawa. While it will be unusually cold in Dallas, too, this game is in no jeopardy.

Friday concludes the season series between the Canadiens and Stars as Dallas won 5-2 in Montreal on Oct. 22. Joe Pavelski was the obvious No. 1 star with a hat trick and an assist. That night he was 38 years, 103 days old and became the oldest player in Stars/North Stars franchise history to record a hat trick. He was the oldest player on any team with a three-goal game since former teammate Joe Thornton (39 years, 231 days) on Feb. 18, 2019. Jason Robertson added a goal and assist and Esa Lindell also scored for Dallas. Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz each had two assists. Jake Oettinger made 29 saves. Arber Xhekaj scored his first NHL goal and assisted Mike Hoffman‘s goal for Montreal. Jake Allen stopped 25 of 30 shots.

Dallas is 4-1 in the past five meetings. The total has gone over in the past four.

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal is 1-1 on a season-high seven-game road trip after a 2-1 overtime loss in Colorado on Wednesday – getting a point in Denver is always worth celebrating. Anthony Richard’s first career NHL goal in his fourth game gave the Habs a 1-0 lead less than two minutes in, and it stood until 2:16 of the third. Mikko Rantanen won it at 1:51 of OT. Jake Allen stopped 34 shots in a tough-luck loss. The Canadiens were outshot 15-4 in the second period and 9-3 in the third. Blueliner Mike Matheson was out with a lower-body injury and will miss a while. Chris Wideman had one shot on goal over 16:39 of ice time in place of Matheson.

Dallas Stars

The Stars’ Jake Oettinger has been one of the league’s top goalies this season but wasn’t sharp on Wednesday in a 6-3 home loss to Edmonton. Warren Foegele broke a tie with 8:14 left as the Oilers scored three times in the third, including an empty-netter.

“We’re not a team that gives up six,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. “We’ve found offence this year, but we can’t lose what makes us so good, which is how we defend.”

Roope Hintz (14th of season), Wyatt Johnston (ninth) and Seguin (seventh) had the Dallas goals. Could be that backup Scott Wedgewood gets a turn here with Oettinger off a rare bad outing. Winger Denis Gurianov (2G, 3A) took an indefinite leave of absence before Wednesday’s game for family reasons. The Stars are 5-2 in their past seven following a home loss of at least three goals.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Canadiens vs. Stars?

• Regular Season

Canadiens Team Leaders

MON

Points	Nick Suzuki 55
+ / -	Rafael Harvey-Pinard 6
Shots	Josh Anderson 164
Penalty Mins	Arber Xhekaj 101
Wins	Jake Allen 14
GAA	Cayden Primeau 3

DAL

Points	Jason Robertson 89
+ / -	Joe Pavelski 35
Shots	Jason Robertson 276
Penalty Mins	Mason Marchment 80
Wins	Jake Oettinger 30
GAA	Jake Oettinger 2.51

• Regular Season

Stars Team Leaders

MON

Points	Nick Suzuki 55
+ / -	Rafael Harvey-Pinard 6
Shots	Josh Anderson 164
Penalty Mins	Arber Xhekaj 101
Wins	Jake Allen 14
GAA	Cayden Primeau 3

DAL

Points	Jason Robertson 89
+ / -	Joe Pavelski 35
Shots	Jason Robertson 276
Penalty Mins	Mason Marchment 80
Wins	Jake Oettinger 30
GAA	Jake Oettinger 2.51

Injuries

Montreal

Josh Anderson (RW)

Ques Thurs Lower Body - 22 / 03 / 23

Jesse Ylonen (RW)

Ques Thurs Illness - 21 / 03 / 23

Jonathan Drouin (LW)

Ques Tues Coach's Decision - 18 / 03 / 23

Kaiden Guhle (D)

out for season Ankle - 18 / 03 / 23

Rem Pitlick (C)

Ques Tues Undisclosed - 14 / 03 / 23

Christian Dvorak (C)

out for season Knee - 09 / 03 / 23

Jordan Harris (D)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 09 / 03 / 23

Kaiden Guhle (D)

Prob Thurs Upper Body - 05 / 03 / 23

Justin Barron (D)

Prob Tues Upper Body - 03 / 03 / 23

Joel Armia (RW)

Early April Infection - 21 / 02 / 23

Dallas

Mason Marchment (LW)

Mid April Knee - 14 / 03 / 23

Tyler Seguin (C)

Early April Leg - 09 / 03 / 23

Scott Wedgewood (G)

Early April Lower Body - 01 / 03 / 23

Scott Wedgewood (G)

Prob Sat Undisclosed - 22 / 02 / 23

Luke Glendening (C)

Late March Lower Body - 18 / 02 / 23

Joel Kiviranta (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 08 / 02 / 23

Roope Hintz (LW)

Out indefinitely Upper Body - 10 / 01 / 23

Roope Hintz (LW)

Ques Sun Upper Body - 08 / 01 / 23

Denis Gurianov (RW)

Out indefinitely Personal - 21 / 12 / 22

Jake Oettinger (G)

Ques Thurs Illness - 28 / 11 / 22

Injuries

Montreal

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Josh Anderson (RW)	Ques Thurs	Lower Body - 22 / 03 / 23	1-0	0-1	+ -
Anderson exited the last game with a lower-body injury, and it remains to be seen if he will face the Bruins on Thursday.
Jesse Ylonen (RW)	Ques Thurs	Illness - 21 / 03 / 23	1-1	1-1	+ -
Ylonen sat out the last contest with an illness, and it is uncertain if he will take on the Bruins on Thursday.
Jonathan Drouin (LW)	Ques Tues	Coach's Decision - 18 / 03 / 23	1-2	2-1	+ -
Drouin was held out of the previous game after missing a team meeting, and it has yet to be confirmed if he will be available for Tuesday's tilt with the Lightning.
Kaiden Guhle (D)	out for season	Ankle - 18 / 03 / 23	1-2	2-1	+ -
Guhle is sidelined due to a high-ankle sprain, and he is likely to miss the remained of the season.
Rem Pitlick (C)	Ques Tues	Undisclosed - 14 / 03 / 23	2-3	4-1	+ -
Pitlick was lifted from the last game due to an unknown issue, and it is undetermined if he will participate in Tuesday's tilt versus the Penguins.
Christian Dvorak (C)	out for season	Knee - 09 / 03 / 23	4-4	6-2	+ -
Dvorak will sit out the remainder of the season after undergoing season-ending knee surgery.
Jordan Harris (D)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 09 / 03 / 23	4-4	6-2	+ -
Harris suffered a lower-body injury, and team officials have yet to provide an exact return date.
Kaiden Guhle (D)	Prob Thurs	Upper Body - 05 / 03 / 23	6-4	7-3	+ -
Guhle has sat out the last two games with an upper-body issue, but it is forecasted that he will partake in Thursday's clash with the Rangers.
Justin Barron (D)	Prob Tues	Upper Body - 03 / 03 / 23	8-4	7-5	+ -
Barron has been out of commission with an upper-body ailment, but it is likely that he will return to the lineup against the Penguins on Tuesday.
Joel Armia (RW)	Early April	Infection - 21 / 02 / 23	10-6	10-6	+ -
Armia is out of action with an upper respiratory infection, and he is not expected to be available until the beginning of April.

Dallas

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Mason Marchment (LW)	Mid April	Knee - 14 / 03 / 23	2-4	5-1	+ -
Marchment is sidelined with a knee injury, and he is expected to remain out of the lineup for three to four weeks.
Tyler Seguin (C)	Early April	Leg - 09 / 03 / 23	3-5	7-1	+ -
Seguin is out of action due to a laceration in his leg, and he is not expected to return until the early part of April.
Scott Wedgewood (G)	Early April	Lower Body - 01 / 03 / 23	6-6	10-1-1	+ -
Wedgewood is sidelined with a lower-body ailment, and he is not expected to return until the beginning of April.
Scott Wedgewood (G)	Prob Sat	Undisclosed - 22 / 02 / 23	7-8	11-3-1	+ -
Wedgewood missed the previous match with an unknown injury, but it is likely that he will suit up against the Golden Knights on Saturday.
Luke Glendening (C)	Late March	Lower Body - 18 / 02 / 23	9-8	11-5-1	+ -
Glendening is on the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury, and he will remain out of the lineup until at least the latter part of March.
Joel Kiviranta (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 08 / 02 / 23	10-10	11-8-1	+ -
Kiviranta is out of commission due to a lower-body injury, and there is no timetable for return.
Roope Hintz (LW)	Out indefinitely	Upper Body - 10 / 01 / 23	16-15	13-17-1	+ -
Hintz is sidelined with an upper-body injury, and he will miss an extended period.
Roope Hintz (LW)	Ques Sun	Upper Body - 08 / 01 / 23	16-16	13-18-1	+ -
Hintz is dealing with an upper-body injury, and it is unclear whether he will partake in Sunday's game against the Panthers.
Denis Gurianov (RW)	Out indefinitely	Personal - 21 / 12 / 22	19-20	15-22-2	+ -
Gurianov has been granted an indefinite leave of absence due to a personal matter.
Jake Oettinger (G)	Ques Thurs	Illness - 28 / 11 / 22	25-25	18-30-2	+ -
Oettinger was held out of the previous game due to an illness, and it is unknown if he will lace up for Thursday's matchup against the Ducks.