Arizona Coyotes (1-2) vs. Montreal Canadiens (2-2)
October 20, 2022 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Montreal Canadiens -162 / Arizona Coyotes +134; Over/Under: +6.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens meet Thursday in NHL action at the Bell Centre. The Arizona Coyotes look to get back to a .500 record. The Montreal Canadiens look to get a game above a .500 record.
The Arizona Coyotes are averaging 3 goals per game and are scoring on 38.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Nick Ritchie leads Arizona with 3 goals, Shayne Gostisbehere has 3 assists and Nick Bjugstad has 6 shots on goal. Defensively, the Arizona Coyotes are allowing 4.7 goals per game and are killing 71.4 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Karel Vejmelka has given up 13 goals on 123 shots faced.
The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 1.7 goals per game and are scoring on 0 percent of their power play opportunities. Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 3 goals, Nick Suzuki has 3 assists and Sean Monahan has 12 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3 goals per game and are killing 88.9 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jake Allen has given up 4 goals on 70 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 5 goals on 57 shots.
The Coyotes are 30-61 in their last 91 road games and 31-71 in their last 102 overall. The Canadiens are 9-23 in their last 32 home games and 25-66 in their last 91 overall. The over is 12-3-1 in Coyotes last 16 overall. The under is 3-0-1 in Canadiens last 4 overall. The Coyotes are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Montreal.
Neither of these teams are lighting it up offensively, and that has me leaning toward the under in this spot with the high total. Yes, the Arizona Coyotes are a mess defensively so far, but the Habs aren’t in a groove to expose it. Also, Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault have been wonderful in net in a limited sample size. This is a high number. I’ll take my chances by siding with the under.
