Ottawa Senators vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction, NHL Odds
A pair of struggling Canadian teams will face off on Monday in the only NHL of the day. Ottawa is looking to break a four game losing streak as the Senators head to Vancouver for the first of a three game set against a Canucks team that has lost four of their last five games.
Vancouver comes into this game as a -155 favourite to win on the NHL odds with a total of 6.0 goals.
Senators vs. Canucks Betting Analysis
As they are normally in different conferences, these teams only met twice last year, splitting the season series with a 5-2 win for each team. With Ottawa sitting in last place in the North Division, it’s no surprise to see Sports Interaction bettors favouring the Canucks at 62 per cent with 75 per cent of bettors taking the Over.
The Senators have only picked up one win in their last five games against Vancouver. Dating back to last season, Ottawa has dropped nine of their last 10 road games, while the Sens have hit the Over in three of five games, this season, and covered twice.
Vancouver has hit the Over in four of their last five games against the Sens and six of their seven games, this season. The Canucks, however, have struggled to cover this year, going 2-5 against the spread.
Ottawa Senators
After winning their season opener against Toronto, the Sens are officially back to reality and riding a four game losing streak heading into Monday. Ottawa is fresh off a 6-3 loss in Winnipeg on Saturday, a game which saw the Sens get outshot 38-21, including 20-4 in a third period that also saw them give up four goals. The Senators give up an average of 4.0 goals per game (28th in the NHL) and 31.6 shots per game (24th). While Matt Murray isn’t the reason for their losses, he hasn’t bailed them out either. Murray is 1-2-1 with a 3.78 goals against average and .880 save percentage, ranking him 45th of 51 goalies in save percentage, this season.
It hasn’t just been Ottawa’s goaltending that has struggled up to this point. The Senators are only averaging 2.8 goals (20th in the NHL) and 26.8 shots (27th) per game. The only Ottawa player averaging a point per game is defenceman Nikita Zaitsev, who is leading the team in points with five assists in five games. Chris Tierney’s three goals is a team-high and Thomas Chabot leads the team in ice time, averaging 24:11 time on ice per game.
Vancouver Canucks
Facing the last place team in the division, Vancouver is likely just grateful to be rid of Montreal for a while. The Canucks were absolutely terrorized by the Canadiens in a three game set that saw Vancouver lose two of three games and get outscored 17-11. Vancouver has allowed at least five goals in five of their seven games and they sit dead last in the NHL in goal differential at -13. Like Ottawa, the Canucks goaltending is also struggling. Braden Holtby was signed in the off-season to replace Jacob Markstrom, but Holtby hasn’t looked comfortable. Holtby is 2-2-0 with a 3.70 goals against average and .888 save percentage. Last season with the Capitals, Holtby ranked 51 of 55 qualified goalies in save percentage, so there is legitimate concern that maybe it’s not the just the poor Vancouver defence contributing to all these losses.
With the goaltending struggling, the offence hasn’t been able to shoot their way into many high scoring wins. Elias Pettersson looks like a completely different player and has just two points (1G, 1A) in seven games. Pettersson has no power play points and has only managed 15 shots on net. Bo Horvat has been the biggest offensive producer for the Canucks, leading the team in goals (5) and points (8).
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