The Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet Thursday in NHL action from the PPG Paints Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Penguins vs Canadiens Prediction.
Montreal Canadiens Recap
The Montreal Canadiens come into this game looking to bounce back from a 6-1 loss at the hands of Tampa Bay last time out to sit at 15-11-3 this season. After this game, Montreal will head on the road for a game against the New York Rangers.
Canadiens Lose Back-To-Back Games
Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 33 points including 8 goals and a team-high 25 assists while Cole Caufield has 31 points with a team-high 16 goals. Lane Hutson has 22 points with 17 assists while Ivan Demidov has 23 points with 6 goals and 17 assists. Noah Dobson has 18 points with 14 assists and Mike Matheson has 16 points with 4 goals and 12 assists. Oliver Kapanen has 15 points with 9 goals and 6 assists while Alex Newhook has 12 points with 6 goals and 6 assists. Sam Montembault has gone 5-6-1 with a 3.65 GAA and an .857 save percentage in goal for the Canadiens while Jakub Dobes is 10-5-2 with a 3.15 GAA and an .887 save percentage.
Why the Montreal Canadiens will win
- The Penguins have lost four of their last five games as home favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Canadiens have won each of their last three games as road underdogs against opponents on a losing streak.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Penguins’ last six games.
- The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in 13 of their last 14 games as favorites following a shootout loss.
Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts
- Oliver Kapanen has scored a goal in four of the Canadiens’ last five road games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Nick Suzuki has recorded an assist in eight of the Canadiens’ last nine games.
- Cole Caufield has recorded at least one point in 11 of the Canadiens’ last 12 games.
- Cole Caufield ranks T2nd in the league for multi-goal games (5) this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recap
The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this game looking to bounce back from a 4-3 shootout loss at the hands of Anaheim last time out to sit at 14-7-7 this season. After this game, Pittsburgh will take on the San Jose Sharks at home.
Penguins Drop Back-To-Back Games
Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh in scoring with 31 points including a team-high 18 goals and 13 assists while Evgeni Malkin has 29 points with 8 goals and a team-high 21 assists. Justin Brazeau has 12 points with 6 goals and 6 assists and Anthony Mantha has 17 points with 9 goals and 8 assists. Erik Karlsson has 19 assists while Bryan Rust has 21 points with 8 goals and 13 assists. Arturs Silovs has gone 4-4-5 with a 2.98 GAA and a .900 save percentage in goal for the Penguins so far this season while Tristan Jarry is 9-2-1 with a 2.54 GAA and a .913 save percentage this year. Sergei Murashov is 1-1-1 with a 1.90 GAA and a .913 save percentage in goal for Pittsburgh this season.
Why the Pittsburgh Penguins will win
- The Canadiens have lost each of their last eight road games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Penguins have won each of their last 10 Thursday home games.
- The Canadiens have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven night games against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Penguins have covered the puck line in each of their last eight Thursday games.
Pittsburgh Penguins Player Prop Facts
- Benjamin Kindel has scored at least one goal in each of his last four appearances against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Sidney Crosby has recorded at least one point in each of the Penguins’ last 10 Thursday home games.
- Rickard Rakell has recorded an assist in each of his last seven Thursday appearances.
- Sidney Crosby ranks 1st amongst qualified players for shooting percentage (28.1%) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Seven of the Canadiens’ last eight games against Metropolitan Division opponents have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Each of the Penguins’ last six Thursday home games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the last eight Thursday games at PPG Paints Arena have gone OVER the total goals line.
Penguins vs Canadiens Prediction
I’m on the Penguins in this one. It’s starting to become a growing concern for me, the state of Montreal’s goaltending. I think it’s becoming more evident day-by-day that the tandem of Montembault and Dobes is more of a liability than an asset for Montreal this season. Pittsburgh has been banged up, but I still think they can get the job done at home in this one, and I’ll side with them at this price.