Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
As Montreal looks to put some distance between themselves and the Calgary Flames in the North Division standings, they’ll play host to last place Ottawa on Saturday. The Senators are kicking off a four-game road trip after dropping a 3-2 decision to Winnipeg on Wednesday.
The Canadiens are a -212 favourite to win on the NHL odds with a total of 6.0.
Senators vs. Canadiens Betting Analysis
Montreal is one of the few teams in the North that Ottawa has actually seemed comfortable playing. The Sens have won four of seven meetings against the Habs this season. It’s been a fairly close series with each team finding the back of the net 20 times.
The road hasn’t been kind to the Senators this year, as they’re 5-16 outside of Ottawa. They’re 25-19 against the spread and have covered in seven of their last 10 games. The total has gone Under in nine of Ottawa’s last 13 games overall, but they’ve actually hit the Over in five straight road games.
Montreal has increased their lead for the final North Division playoff spot by six points, but they’ll need to play better than their 2-4 straight up record over their last six games to clinch a playoff berth. They’re 18-23 ATS, but have only covered in two of their last eight home games. The total has gone Under in five of the Habs’ last seven games.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa got some relief between the pipes when Matt Murray returned from an upper-body injury in the Winnipeg loss on Wednesday. The Senators were forced to use four different goaltenders in Murray’s absence, after he left the warmup of their March 14 games against Toronto with an upper-body injury. The first-year Senator made 32 saves against the Jets, although his record for the year dropped to 7-13-1. Murray has struggled since coming over from Pittsburgh in free agency during the off-season. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has a 3.80 goals-against-average and .882 save percentage. It’s worth noting he’s had his most success this year against Montreal. Murray is 3-1-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .928 SV against the Habs and is expected to get the start on Saturday.
Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot had the goals for Ottawa on Wednesday. It was Norris’ 12th marker of the season, putting him four back of Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov for the rookie goal lead. Norris is third in rookie scoring with 25 points, while Tim Stutzle if fourth with 22 points (7G, 15A).
Montreal Canadiens
Tyler Toffoli continues to have one of the best seasons of his career after picking up both goals in Montreal’s 2-1 win over Calgary on Friday. Toffoli leads the Canadiens with 32 points (21G, 11A). Nick Suzuki picked up assists on both goals and increased his point total for the season to 27 (8G, 19A). It was a must-win game for Montreal as Calgary is the only team in the standings that has a chance to catch the Habs for the final playoff spot in the division. A Calgary win would have put the Flames within two points of the Canadiens in the standings and created some real pressure in Montreal.
With Carey Price still sidelined with a lower-body injury, Jake Allen is expected to start his seventh straight game on Saturday. Allen is 7-7-4 with a 2.44 GAA and .915 SV this season and has surrendered three or fewer goals in eight of his last nine starts. The main concern is Allen’s home record. He’s posted a 2.80 GAA at the Bell Centre compared to a 2.00 GAA on the road. Allen has played well against Ottawa, though. In three starts against the Sens he is 2-0-1 with a 1.63 GAA and .948 SV.
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