Calgary Flames vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
Johnny Gaudreau deked past his former netminder to put the overtime winner home for the Flames second win in a row.
Flames vs. Canadiens 4/14/21 Betting Analysis
The Canadiens open as the -156 favourite despite being 1-3 against the Flames this year. Both teams are coming off of wins over Toronto in competition for the last playoff spot. Calgary has now won two in a row, putting them at 3-7 in their last 10 games, while the Habs are 5-4-1. The Canadiens are 2-3 at home this month and 9-8-2 on the year.
The over/under is set at 5.5 with the over at -120. The meetings in this series have been very low scoring, playing the under in all four games. The Canadiens have trouble scoring on Calgary, scoring only six times in four games and just two goals in the past three. Both teams have been on under trends recently, the Flames two straight and Montreal in five of eight.
Jacob Markstrom is 3-0 in the series with a 0.67 goals against average and a .975 save percentage. He has not started both in a back-to-back all season, but now that Calgary has traded away his backup, they may need to ride him a little harder than they would like, especially if they want to make the postseason.
Calgary Flames
The Flames are in a tough spot; mathematically they could still squeeze into the playoffs, but being six points behind Montreal with only 14 games left on the schedule, they will need a miracle. They helped their own cause by beating the Leafs and could really make up some ground if they beat the Canadiens in their five remaining matchups.
Calgary has back-to-back wins for the first time since March 15th thanks to Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime winner. He leads the team with 15 goals and has four points in the past two games. The only Flame outplaying him is probably centre Mikael Backlund who has six points in four.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens got back in the win column Monday for the first time since losing the two most well-known names on the roster. Goalie Carey Price and forward Brendan Gallagher both went down in an April 5th win versus the Oilers. Since the injuries, Jake Allen has been promoted to starting goalie and has started all four games, while 21-year-old Cayden Primeau rides the pine awaiting his opportunity.
The Habs offense is averaging only two goals a game this month through seven games. They need more from key pieces like Jonathan Drouin, scoreless in his past 21 games and Jeff Petry who hasn’t got one since March 13th against the Flames, a span of 12 games.
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