It is an all-Canadian battle as the Ottawa Senators face the Montreal Canadiens. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Senators-Canadiens prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Senators come into the game sitting at 17-24-1 on the year, in last place in the Atlantic Division. Still, they have won three of their last five, and last time out played the Flyers. The Flyers scored the first two goals of the game. both from Egor Zamula. The Senators would fight back though. Zack McEwen scored in the second, but the Flyers made it 3-1 on a Joel Farabee power-play goal. Then Tim Stutzle scored on a Shane Pinto assist to make it 3-2 before the end of the period. In the third, Claude Girouz scored to tie it up, and then Vladimir Tarsenko gave them the lead. Tim Stutzle would add an empty netter as the Senators won 5-3.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens enter the game at 19-20-7 on the year, good for sixth in the Atlantic division. They have lost each of their last two though, inlcuding a 6-2 loss to the Senators. Last time out, they faced the Boston Bruins. It was a high-scoring first period, starting with Cole Caufield scoring on the power play. Brandon Carlo would score for the Bruins to tie it up, but Joel Armia scored to make it 2-1 for the Canadiens. Still, the Bruins would score twice in the last two minutes of the period to make it 3-2. Mike Matheson would tie the game in the second, but again the Bruins struck quickly, scoring twice in under a minute. The Canadiens would make it a one-goal game going into the third though. In the third, the Bruins would dominate, scoring four times in the first 10:40 of the period, as they would go on to win 9-4.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Senators-Canadiens Odds
Ottawa Senators: -1.5 (+155)
Moneyline: -146
Montreal Canadiens: +1.5 (-192)
Moneyline: +122
Over: 6.5 (-134)
Under: 6.5 (+110)
How to Watch Senators vs. Canadiens
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: NHLPP/ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Senators Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Senators are tenth in the NHL this year with 3.38 goals per game on the season. They are led in goals by Brady Tkachuk. He comes in with 19 goals on the year and 18 assists. That gives him 37 total points on the year, which is good for third on the team this year. He has also been good on the power play, with five goals and three assists this year. Tim Stutzle leads the team in points this year. He comes in with ten goals on the year, but he has 33 assists giving him 43 total points to lead the team. Further, he has eight power-play assists.
Sitting second on the team in points and third in goals is Claude Giroux. He comes in with 14 goals and 25 assists on the year, good for 39 total points. He has two goals and eight assists on the power play this year. Meanwhile, Drake Batherson is second on the team in goals this year, coming in with 16 goals and 19 assists this year, good for 35 points. Rounding out the top scorers is Vladimir Tarasenko. He comes in with 12 goals and 19 assists, making him one of five players with more than 30 points this year.
The Senators are 24th in the NHL on the power play, with a 15.6 percent conversion rate. Meanwhile, they are one of the worst against the penalty kill. They have a 72.7 percent success rate, which is 31st in the NHL this year.
Joonas Korpisalo is expected to be in goal for this one. He is 9-15-1 on the year with a 3.56 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage. While a lot of his games have been a struggle in January, his last two games have been solid. In his last two games, he has allowed just two goals in each game, with save percentages over .910 in both of them. Still, he is 1-0-1 in those games.
Why The Canadiens Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Canadiens sit 28th in the NHL this year with just 2.72 goals per game. Nick Suzuki comes in leading the team in points this year. Suzuki comes in with 12 goals with 26 assists this year. He has 38 total points and has been great on the power play. He has six goals and 14 assists this year on the power play. Cole Caufield leads the way in terms of goals scored this year. He has scored 16 goals this year with 19 assists, making him second on the team in points. He has also been solid on the power play this year, with seven goals and nine assists this year.
Further, the Canadiens have help from the blue line on offense. Mike Matheson comes in with seven goals and 25 assists this year, making him third on the team in points with 32. He also has been solid on the power play with five goals and 13 assists this year. Joining him in scoring well is Sean Monahan. He comes in with 11 goals and 20 assists this year, good for 31 total points. He is one of four guys with over 30 points this year.
The Canadiens sit 20th in the NHL on the power play this year, with a 19.3 percent success rate. Still, they have struggled on the penalty kill, with just a 72.9 percent success rate on the penalty kill this year, which is 29th in the NHL.
Jake Allen is expected to be in goal for this one. He is 5-8-2 on the year with a 3.49 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. In his last six starts, he has two giving up five goals, two giving up three, and two giving up two goals. Meanwhile, he is 2-3-1 in those six games, with a goals-against average of just over three goals per game.
Final Senators-Canadiens Prediction & Pick
Both teams come into this game having their fair share of struggles this year. Still, the Canadiens have been better overall. They do not score as much as the Senators, but they have a better goaltending situation. This should be the difference in this game. Montreal can defend better and will slow down the Senators enough. They will also get enough scoring to pull the upset.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Senators-Canadiens Prediction & Pick: Canadiens ML (+122)