Canadian Tire Centre is the site for an enticing tilt as the Montreal Canadiens take the ice against the Ottawa Senators. It’s the fourth and last time that these two clubs will go at it in the regular season. The first puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 22, and you’ll be able to catch this divisional matchup live on Sportsnet ONE.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators Odds
Ottawa (+105) is currently the underdog to Montreal (-125) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 7 goals. If you want to play the game’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 on the under.
Montreal is 28-35 straight up (SU) and has lost 14.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 63 regular season outings, 32 of its games have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just three have pushed. As an away team this season, the Habs are 15-15 SU.
Montreal has converted on 19.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked 19th in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 79.3 percent of its penalties.
Montreal, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.3 times per game overall in the 2019-20 season, and 4.0 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.6 saves per game with a .910 save percentage, Carey Price (25-27-5) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal this season. If Montreal chooses to rest him, however, they could turn to Keith Kinkaid (1-5-3 record, .875 save percentage, 4.24 goals against average).
The visiting Canadiens have relied heavily on Tomas Tatar and Phillip Danault this year. Tatar has 55 points via 21 goals and 34 assists, and has recorded multiple points 12 times. Danault has 12 goals and 29 assists to his credit (and has registered a point in 32 games).
On the other bench, Ottawa is 21-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 61 regular season matches, 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 15-18 SU at home this year.
Ottawa has converted on just 15.2 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.9 percent of all penalties.
Ottawa skaters have been penalized 3.9 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their last five outings total, and 3.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays 13.4 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
Craig Anderson has stopped 25.8 shots per game as the primary option in the crease for Ottawa. Anderson has nine wins, 19 losses, and two OT losses and has recorded a fairly-weak .900 save percentage and 3.22 goals against average this season.
The Sens will be led on offense by Jean-Gabriel Pageau (24 goals, 16 assists).
Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in three of Ottawa’s last five outings.
- Montreal’s attempted 34.1 shots per contest overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 30.8 in its last five road outings.
- Power plays and penalty kills could prove to be critical in tonight’s game. The Canadiens are 8-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 21-25 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Senators are 7-17 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 12-19 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Montreal is 4-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Ottawa is 0-5 in shootouts.
- Ottawa is ranked 29th this season with 6.3 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower, however, as it has created 5.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.2 takeaways over its last five.
- Montreal skaters have managed 6.8 takeaways per game (ranked 20th in the league).
