In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins face off at TD Garden for an Original Six showdown. This one gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 17 and it’s being shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Odds
Boston comes into the game as the obvious favorite with a moneyline of -200. The line for Montreal sits at +170 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -115 for the over and -105 for the under.
Netting 1.3 units for moneyline bettors, Boston is 24-18 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked 2nd in the Atlantic Division in this young season, is fairly close to the 44-38 record the team managed during the 2016-17 season campaign. Of the team’s 42 games this season, 20 have gone under the total, while 20 have gone over and just one has pushed. This season, the team is 14-9 SU at home.
The Bruins have converted on 20.7 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all penalties.
The Bruins, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five matchups home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, overall.
With a .919 save percentage and 25.2 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (15-13-4) has been the best goalkeeper for Boston this year. If the Bruins choose to rest him, however, Boston could turn to Anton Khudobin (9-7-7 record, .924 save percentage, 2.40 goals against average).
The Bruins will continue to lean on the leadership from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Marchand (41 points) has produced 18 goals and 23 assists and has recorded two or more points 13 times this year. Pastrnak has 17 goals and 22 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 27 contests.
Over on the other bench, Montreal is 18-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 44 regular season outings, 23 of its games have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just two have pushed. The Canadiens are 7-13 SU as an away team this season.
The Canadiens have converted on 19.5 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 26th overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.2 percent of all penalties.
Montreal’s players have been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their past five outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 6.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price (.908 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal. Price is averaging 28.0 saves per game and owns a 13-18-4 record.
Alex Galchenyuk (11 goals, 15 assists) and Max Pacioretty (12 goals, 13 assists) are the top offensive options for Montreal and will pace the offensive counter for the visiting Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Five of Boston’s last ten contests have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 5-0 overall in those games.
The Canadiens are 5-8 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 13-18 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Three of Boston’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 2-1 in those games and 3-2 overall in shootouts this season.
The total has gone over in three of Boston’s last five games.
Boston skaters have averaged 7.6 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 9.0 giveaways per game (ranked 13th in the league).
Montreal is ranked 31st this season with 13.3 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower lately, however, as it’s averaged 11.5 giveaways over its last 10 games and 12.2 giveaways over its last five.
This game features a couple of the more physical defenses in the league. Montreal skaters have dished out the third-most hits in the league (24.8 per game) while the Bruins have tallied the sixth-most (23.9).
