The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens meet Thursday in NHL action at the Bell Centre. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Detroit Red Wings Betting Preview
The Detroit Red Wings are averaging 3 goals per game and are scoring on 20.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Dylan Larkin leads Detroit with 15 goals, Fillip Hronek has 26 assists and David Perron has 116 shots on goal. Defensively, the Detroit Red Wings are allowing 3.3 goals per game and are killing 75.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Ville Husso has given up 95 goals on 969 shots faced, and Alex Nedeljkovic has allowed 35 goals on 292 shots.
The Montreal Canadiens Betting Preview
The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 2.6 goals per game and are scoring on 14.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 26 goals, Nick Suzuki has 22 assists and Josh Anderson has 104 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3.6 goals per game and are killing 74 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jake Allen has given up 95 goals on 882 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 65 goals on 723 shots.
Red Wings vs Canadiens Trends
The Red Wings are 32-90 in their last 122 road games and 22-48 in their last 70 Thursday games. The Canadiens are 1-4 in their last 5 Thursday games and 43-92 in their last 135 overall. The over is 5-2 in Red Wings last 7 road games. The under is 4-1-1 in Canadiens last 6 overall. The Red Wings are 3-12 in the last 15 meetings in Montreal and 10-22 in the last 32 meetings. The favorite is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings. The home team is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings.
Randy’s Free Pick
I’m not running to the window to back either of these teams, but if forced to pick, I’m going to lean toward the Montreal Canadiens at home. The Detroit Red Wings have been horrible on the road these last 3 seasons. The Habs are also a top-5 team in terms of money earned this season. Give me the Canadiens at home and the cheap price.