A couple of teams riding winning streaks, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins take the ice at TD Garden in an Original Six tilt. Sportsnet will showcase the game, which gets underway at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 3.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Odds
Montreal (+190) is currently the underdog to Boston (-230) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Netting moneyline bettors 5.6 units, Boston is 39-23 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked fourth in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 44-38 record from last years regular season campaign. Through 62 regular season contests, 32 of its games have gone under the total, while 29 have gone over and just one has pushed. The teams 21-11 SU at home this season.
The Bruins have converted on 20.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.7 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, the Bruins have been penalized 3.8 times per game overall this season, 3.8 per game over their last five outings total, and 3.8 per game over their last five home outings. The teams had to stave off opposition power plays for 8.6 minutes per game over their last five matchups, in total.
Sporting a .919 save percentage and 25.1 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (26-16-4) has been the primary option in goal for the Bruins this season. If head coach Bruce Cassidy decides to give him a rest, however, the team may turn to Anton Khudobin (13-10-10 record, .919 save percentage, 2.41 goals against average).
The Bruins will continue to rely on offensive production from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Marchand (60 points) has put up 24 goals and 36 assists and has recorded multiple points on 18 different occasions this year. Pastrnak has 23 goals and 35 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 40 games.
Montreal is 25-39 straight up (SU) and has lost 18.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 35 of its contests have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just two have pushed. As an away team, the Canadiens are 9-21 SU.
The Canadiens have converted on 20.9 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 26th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.2 percent of all penalties.
Montreal’s players have been penalized 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price (27.3 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Montreal. Price has 15 wins, 28 losses, and six OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .904 save percentage and 2.98 goals against average this year.
Brendan Gallagher (22 goals, 17 assists) and Alex Galchenyuk (15 goals, 24 assists) have been standout playmakers for Montreal and will pace the offensive attack for the visiting Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The Canadiens are 9-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 19-27 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Three of Montreal’s last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 0-3 in those games and 2-5 overall in shootouts this season.
- Boston may have an advantage if it’s a close one late. The teams 16-10 in games decided by one goal, while Montreal is 10-13 in such games.
- The total has gone over in three of Boston’s last five games.
- Boston is ranked 17th this season with 9.7 giveaways per game. That figure has regressed lately, as it’s averaged 10.9 giveaways over its last 10 games and 10.6 giveaways over its last five.
- Montreal has averaged 7.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 12.7 giveaways per game (ranked 30th in the NHL).
- This game features a couple of the more physical teams in the league. Montreal skaters have accounted for the leagues third-most hits per game (25.5) while the Bruins have handed the eighth-most (23.9).
