Squaring off for the final time this season, the Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues face off at the Enterprise Center. The action gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 10, and you’ll be able to witness this East-West matchup live on The Sports Network.
Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
Montreal (-105) is currently the underdog to St. Louis (-115), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 under, +100 over.
Montreal is 23-21 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 44 regular season outings, 22 of its games have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just one has pushed. The Habs are 12-10 SU as the road team in 2018-19.
Montreal has converted on just 12.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places them in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th out of 31 teams, and it’s successfully killed off 78.3 percent of all penalties.
Montreal, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box 3.9 times per game this season, and 3.2 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.0 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Averaging 26.4 saves per game with a .909 save percentage, Carey Price (16-17-4) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal this year. If it decides to give him a rest, however, the team might turn to Antti Niemi (7-5-1), who has a .886 save percentage and 3.85 goals against average this year.
Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Canadiens. Domi has 39 points on 14 goals and 25 assists, and has recorded multiple points eight times. Drouin has 13 goals and 20 assists to his creditand has notched a point in 24 games.
On the other side of the rink, St. Louis is 17-24 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. 20 of its contests have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just two have pushed. This season, the team is 10-15 SU as the home team.
St. Louis has converted on 19.2 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is also ranked 18th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
St. Louis players have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their past five outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen has denied 23.9 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for St. Louis. Allen has 14 wins, 20 losses, and four OT losses and has registered a mediocre 3.07 goals against average and a fairly-weak .896 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Ryan O’Reilly (16 goals, 24 assists).
Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in each of Montreal’s last five outings.
- The Canadiens are 9-7 in games where they outshoot their opponent by 10 or more. They’ve averaged the league’s fifth-most shots on goal (33.8) while St. Louis’s attempted the 21st-most (just 30.8).
- Eight of St. Louis’ last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals, and the team is 5-3 overall in those games.
- Montreal skaters have dished out the fourth-most hits in the league (27.1 per game), but that number’s down to just 21.6 hits over their last five away games.
