Edmonton Oilers vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
Edmonton has a chance to take second place in the North division if they can even the season series tonight.
Oilers vs. Canadiens 3/30/21 Betting Analysis
The Canadiens beat the Oilers in back-to-back games in Edmonton back in January, then Edmonton got revenge a month later shutting out the Habs in their own barn. With a 2-1 series lead, odds makers have made the Canadiens the -125 favourite. As it stands, bettors are sided 62 percent with the visiting Oilers. The away team has won every game so far.
Three out of three games this year have played the under and with a total at 6 tonight the bets are split 50/50. The highest scoring matchup was a 5-1 Habs win in the first game, the other two had totals of 4 and 3. Both teams past 10 games have gone 5-5 on the over/under. Canadiens goalie Carey Price has given up four goals two games in a row, while the Oilers are likely to start back up goalie Mikko Koskinen. Edmonton has been great playing against the spread, winning three in a row and seven of their last 10. Montreal has lost its last three to the spread.
Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton had a week off before a tough two games in Toronto. Both games went to extra time and each team managed to pull out a win. Now, the Oilers have less than a day to get to Montreal and get ready to face the rested Canadiens. Mike Smith made some incredible saves in the Maple Leafs series, keeping them in it both games. He was the game’s first star last night stopping 29 of 31 shots for the win. He deserves a night off, so expect Mikko Koskinen to get the start tonight.
Defenceman Darnell Nurse has been stellar lately, scoring in back-to-back games including the overtime winner last night. His nine hits and an average of 26 minutes of ice time goes to show he is no slouch in his own end either. Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 11 games, assisting on the overtime winner. He’s tallied seven goals, 16 assists for 23 points during that stretch. The streak could be in jeopardy tonight though, McDavid has only two points against Montreal in three games. The Habs are the only opponent he is not averaging over a point per game against.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens have been off the ice since March 20th, when Finnish forwards Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were added to the teams COVID protocol list. The Habs exorcised some demons their last outing, finally winning a game in extra time. The 5-4 shootout win over Vancouver was their first overtime win after nine losses. Tomas Tatar looked to have his swagger back scoring a goal and adding an assist before deking the goalie for the shootout winner.
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin made the most of his week break by adding two players to his roster. He traded a few picks for a veteran centre in Eric Staal from Buffalo, then he inked 2019 1st rounder Cole Caufield to an entry-level contract. Both players are crossing the border and will have to undergo quarantine before joining the squad.
Tonight, the Habs will be missing forwards Tyler Toffoli and Joel Armia. Armia has not been activated from the covid list yet and Toffoli will miss his second game with a lower-body injury. Michael Frolik is set to make his Canadiens debut, skating on the fourth line.
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