Two teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers clash at the Wells Fargo Center. This Eastern Conference matchup will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 7 and it’ll be showcased live on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers Odds
Philadelphia comes into the contest as the favorite with a -125 moneyline. The line for Montreal is standing at +105, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at 7 goals. If bettors want to play this game’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Montreal is 8-7 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.2 units this year. Through 15 regular season outings, nine of its games have gone over the total, while five have gone under and just one has pushed. As an away team in 2019-20, the Habs are 4-4 SU.
Montreal has converted on 20.0 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 29th in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off only 68.9 percent of all penalties.
Montreal, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box just 3.1 times per game in the 2019-20 season, a number that’s improved from last year’s 3.5 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to kill penalties for 6.5 minutes per matchup this season.
Averaging 27.8 saves per game with a .910 save percentage, Carey Price (7-5-1) has been the top option in goal for Montreal this year. If head coach Claude Julien decides to rest him, however, the team may turn to Keith Kinkaid (1-2-1), who has a .879 save percentage and 4.35 goals against average this year.
The visiting Canadiens have relied on Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher this year. Tatar has 13 points on five goals and eight assists, and has recorded two or more points two times. Gallagher has seven goals and six assists to his credit, and has logged at least one point in eight games.
On the other side of the ice, Philadelphia is 7-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.7 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Eight of its games have gone over the total, while six have gone under and none have pushed. The team’s 5-2 SU at home thus far.
Philadelphia has converted on 24.1 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
The Flyers have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.7 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.9 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to kill penalties for 7.9 minutes per outing this year.
Brian Elliott (22.9 saves per game) has been the top option in the crease for Philadelphia. Elliott has three wins, five losses, and one overtime loss to his name and has maintained a fairly-weak .901 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Travis Konecny (seven goals, eight assists).
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in four of their last five outings.
- Two clubs that put the puck on goal a lot, Montreal has attempted the league’s sixth-most shots on goal (34.1) and Philadelphia has attempted the fourth-most (34.5).
- The Flyers are 2-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 3-6 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Montreal is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 1-2 in shootouts.
