Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
After ending a long road trip with back-to-back wins, the Canadiens carried that momentum to the Centre Bell and extended it to three on Thursday night. The three teams they have beaten on this streak are in playoff position or fighting to get there. While the Canadiens have run out of time for a push of their own they are playing the spoiler role to perfection.
The puck drop is set for 7:00 PM EST Saturday and our NHL odds have the Hurricanes as a heavy favourite, sitting at -275 on the Moneyline. The OVER/UNDER set at an even six goals.
Hurricanes vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
Carolina has been dominating this matchup over the past four seasons and has a chance to sweep another season series tonight in Montreal. The Canes have come out on top in both of their games with the Canadiens this season extending their win streak over Montreal to eight games. Carolina has held the Habs to two goals or less in six of those eight games, helping the UNDER hit 5-3.
The Canes have stuck to the same game plan for the past few seasons: defence first hockey, keeping the games low-scoring and not letting their opponents get shots through to the net. Although they added a pair of offensive-minded forwards at the deadline they have stuck to the plan and played the UNDER in seven of their past 10 games. They now have a 31-42-1 record on the OVER/UNDER. Keeping games tight also hurts their record against the spread, because they tend to be the favourite in most matchups.
Goaltending has been a strong suit over the Canadiens past three games, holding their opponents to just a single goal in each outing. While their defence and goaltending have been thriving, the opposite can be said offensively. Other than the top line, there are no other consistent contributors up front, hence their 2-8 record on the OVER/UNDER in the past 10 games. Where the Canadiens have made bettors money this season is covering the spread. Their ability to stick around in games and keep them close despite being an underdog has pushed them to a 47-25 record ATS.
Carolina Hurricanes
After a tough 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the Hurricanes returned to Raleigh to host a desperate Red Wings team on Thursday. They bounced back very nicely, shutting out the Wings who are fighting for their playoff lives 4-0, while simultaneously clinching their spot in the postseason for the fifth year in a row.
Carolina got all their offence in the middle frame, scoring four times in just 12 minutes to take the 4-0 lead. Frederick Andersen was a perfect 24 for 24 in the game picking up his seventh consecutive win and boosting his record to 11-1 on the season.
For a squad that typically stays pretty conservative at the deadline, the Canes decided to add this season and seeing how those moves have turned out, they may wish they had done so in years past. Winger Jake Guentzel has had instant chemistry with Sebastian Aho, picking up 12 points in the 10 games with the team. Evgeni Kuznetsov, who came in from Washington has been good too with six points in 12 games.
Carolina has climbed up to the third favourite to bring home the Stanley Cup at +700 on our NHL Futures Board.
Montreal Canadiens
Despite still sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division, the Canadiens are coming into the last 10 games of what was a respectable campaign. They are now only four games back of a .500 record after winning each of their past three games.
Montreal finished off their final Western Conference road trip of the season with back-to-back wins and returned home to beat the Flyers 4-1 on Thursday night. They were heavily outshot in the game, 30-17 but the first star of the game; goalie Cayden Primeau stole it for the team, stopping 29 shots. There were two more that got passed him but the referees called them back because of an offside and a kick.
Nick Suzuki buried his 30th of the season off of a beauty pass from Juraj Slafkovsky on the powerplay to get things rolling offensively. Less than four minutes later Jesse Ylonen (4) increased the lead to two. They would add two empty netters in the final three minutes, while also giving up on Philly with the extra attacker.
Suzuki is set to break his career high in every stat, hitting 30 goals for the first time and just one assist away from setting a new career high there as well.
Goaltending has been a strong suit over the Canadiens’ past three games, holding their opponents to just a single goal in each outing. While their defence and goaltending have been thriving, the opposite can be said offensively. Other than the top line, there are no other consistent contributors up front, hence their 2-8 record on the OVER/UNDER in the past 10 games. Where the Canadiens have made bettors money this season is covering the spread. Their ability to stick around in games and keep them close despite being an underdog has pushed them to a 47-25 record ATS.
