Montreal Canadiens vs Chicago Blackhawks 12/9/21 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens meet Thursday in NHL action at the Bell Centre. The Chicago Blackhawks look for a win after splitting their last 10 games. The Montreal Canadiens look to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Chicago Blackhawks are averaging 2.1 goals per game and are scoring on 16.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Alex DeBrincat leads Chicago with 14 goals, Seth Jones has 19 assists and Patrick Kane has 80 shots on goal. Defensively, the Chicago Blackhawks are allowing 3.2 goals per game and are killing 81.4 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Marc-Andre Fleury has given up 48 goals on 523 shots faced, and Kevin Lankinen has allowed 28 goals on 254 shots.

The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 2.3 goals per game and are scoring on 13.4 percent of their power play opportunities. Josh Anderson leads Montreal with 7 goals, Tyler Toffoli has 12 assists and Nick Suzuki has 58 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3.6 goals per game and are killing 72.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jake Allen has given up 57 goals on 607 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 23 goals on 223 shots.

The Blackhawks are 5-12 in their last 17 road games and 11-23 in their last 34 overall. The Canadiens are 1-4 in their last 5 home games and 2-5 in their last 7 Thursday games. The under is 4-1 in Blackhawks last 5 overall. The over is 4-1 in Canadiens last 5 vs. Central. The Blackhawks are 6-0 in the last 6 meetings in Montreal.

I’m not thrilled to get behind either of these losing teams, but the Blackhawks have shown more signs of life this season. The Montreal Canadiens are just awful at both ends of the ice, and playing at home hasn’t helped. The Blackhawks have also treated the Habs like a punching bag over the years, which includes wins in 10 of their last 12 meetings. Give me the Blackhawks and the cheap price.