Bell Centre will play host to an East-West clash as the Montreal Canadiens welcome the visiting St. Louis Blues. This one gets started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 5 and it can be caught live on Reseau Des Sports.
St. Louis Blues at Montreal Canadiens Odds
Montreal (+100) is currently the underdog to Montreal (-120), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -130 under, +110 over.
St. Louis is 17-10 straight up (SU) and has earned 3.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 27 regular season matches, 14 of its games have gone under the total, while 13 have gone over and none have pushed. As a road team this season, the Blue Notes are 8-5 SU.
St. Louis has converted on 17.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.6 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been whistled for penalties just 3.6 times per game this season, 3.2 per game over its past five total, and 4.0 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .907 save percentage and 25.3 saves per game, Jake Allen (13-9-2) has been the top option in goal for St. Louis this year. If St. Louis decides to rest him, however, they may go with Carter Hutton (4-3), who has a .937 save percentage and 1.90 goals against average this year.
Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Blues. Schwartz has 32 points on 13 goals and 19 assists, and has recorded multiple points nine times. Schenn has 10 goals and 20 assists to his credit (and has registered at least one point in 16 games).
On the other side of the rink, Montreal is 13-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 28 regular season matches, 13 of its games have gone over the total, while another 13 have gone under and just two have pushed. This year, the team’s 8-7 SU at home.
Montreal has converted on 17.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 26th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.2 percent of all penalties.
Montreal players have been called for penalties 4.0 times per game in total this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five contests. The team has had to kill penalties just 6.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Carey Price (26.8 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for Montreal. Price has eight wins, eight losses, and one overtime loss to his credit and has recorded a pedestrian 2.94 goals against average and a subpar .905 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Brendan Gallagher (13 goals, six assists).
St. Louis Blues vs. Montreal Canadiens Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Montreal’s last five outings.
This game features two teams that put the puck on net a lot. St. Louis has taken the league’s sixth-most shots on goal (34.6) while Montreal has attempted the sixth-most (34.7).
The Blues are 5-2 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canadiens are 4-5 SU when they serve more minutes than the opposition.
St. Louis is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Montreal is 1-1 in shootouts.
Montreal skaters have averaged 6.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 5.8 takeaways per game (ranked 26th).
St. Louis has averaged 3.3 goals per game this season, but is averaging 1.3 goals per match up over its three-game losing skid.
St. Louis has created 8.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, right in line with its season average of 8.2 takeaways per game (ranked 11th in the league).
