The Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes meet Monday in NHL action at the Mullett Arena. The Montreal Canadiens have lost 6 of their last 8 games. The Arizona Coyotes have lost 6 of their last 9 games.
The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 2.8 goals per game and are scoring on 14.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 18 goals, Nick Suzuki has 16 assists and Josh Anderson has 65 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3.5 goals per game and are killing 79.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jake Allen has given up 70 goals on 681 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 30 goals on 325 shots.
The Arizona Coyotes are averaging 2.8 goals per game and are scoring on 20 percent of their power play opportunities. Lawson Crouse leads Arizona with 13 goals, Matias Maccelli has 19 assists and Shayne Gostisbehere has 63 shots on goal. Defensively, the Arizona Coyotes are allowing 3.7 goals per game and are killing 76.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Karel Vejmelka has given up 65 goals on 732 shots faced, and Connor Ingram has allowed 36 goals on 288 shots.
The Canadiens are 18-41 in their last 59 road games and 37-81 in their last 118 overall. The Coyotes are 15-37 in their last 52 home games and 15-36 in their last 51 overall. The under is 4-1-1 in Canadiens last 6 overall. The over is 5-1 in Coyotes last 6 overall. The Canadiens are 9-4 in the last 13 meetings in Arizona. The over is 17-8-3 in the last 28 meetings.
I'm not running to the window to back either of these teams, but I'm certainly not excited to lay juice with either side. Yes, the Montreal Canadiens aren't playing well, and they've had their struggles on the road, but the Arizona Coyotes don't play a lick of defense and have several bad losses on their resume. If anything, you can argue the Habs have been the better team this season overall. Give me the even money with the road team.
