In their first of three head-to-head meetings this season, the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens collide at Bell Centre. This Eastern Conference matchup will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 3, and it’ll air live on The Sports Network.
New York Islanders at Montreal Canadiens Odds
New York (-105) is currently the underdog to Montreal (-115), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -130 money on the over and +110 on the under.
New York is 18-7 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 8.8 units this season. 13 of its games have gone under the total, while 11 have gone over and none have pushed. As a road team in 2019-20, the Isles are 7-4 SU.
New York has converted on 18.6 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 83.3 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, New York has been penalized just 3.4 times per game this season, 3.4 per game over its past five total, and 4.0 per game over its last five on the road. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.1 saves per game with a .922 save percentage, Semyon Varlamov (9-5-2) has been the best option in goal for New York this season. Varlamov did just play last night, however, so New York may choose to rest him and go with Thomas Greiss instead (10-3 record, .931 save percentage, 2.10 goals against average).
The visiting Islanders will be led by Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson. Barzal has 23 points via 10 goals and 13 assists, and has recorded multiple points in seven different games. Nelson has eight goals and 12 assists to his name, and has logged at least one point in 12 games.
On the other bench, Montreal is 11-16 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. 16 of its games have gone over the total, while 10 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 6-9 SU at home this season.
Montreal has converted on 18.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 73.2 percent of all penalties.
Montreal players have been penalized only 3.1 times per game this season, 3.0 per game over their past five contests total, and 2.6 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 6.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price (27.3 saves per game) has been the top selection in goal for Montreal. Price has 10 wins, 12 losses, and three overtime losses to his name and has registered a pedestrian 3.18 goals against average and a fairly-weak .898 save percentage this year.
Tomas Tatar (nine goals, 15 assists) will pace the attack for the Habs.
New York Islanders vs. Montreal Canadiens Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in four of their past five matchups.
- New York has managed 29.2 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Montreal is averaging 41.2 shots per game over its last five at home.
- The Canadiens are 3-7 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Islanders are 14-4 SU in games where they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- New York is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Montreal is 2-1 in shootouts.
- Montreal skaters have created 7.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 7.4 takeaways per game (ranked 17th in the league).
- New York skaters have created 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.4 takeaways per game (ranked 17th).
- New York may hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The team’s an impressive 9-3 in one-goal games, while Montreal is 5-8 in such games.
