Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, and the Montreal Canadiens will do battle against Brayden Schenn, Ryan O’Reilly, and the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in an East-West matchup. The game will get underway at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 19, and fans at home are able to watch it live on Fox Sports Midwest.
Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
Montreal (+140) is playing the role of underdog to St. Louis (-160) and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -130 for the over and +110 for the under.
St. Louis is 3-4 straight-up (SU) and has recorded -3.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 45-37 record that the team managed during the 2018-19 season campaign. Out of the team’s seven regular season outings, four of them have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. Thus far, the team’s 1-2 SU at home.
The Blues have successfully converted on 21.1 percent of their power play opportunities thus far. That mark hasn’t moved too much from last year, when they were ranked 15th in the league by scoring on 19.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.1 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 16th overall last season) to 94.1 percent this year.
Averaging 30.0 saves per game with a .909 save percentage, Jordan Binnington (2-4-3) has been the most dependable option in goal for the Blue Notes this season. If the Blue Notes decide to give him a breather, however, the team might roll with Jake Allen (1-0 record, .862 save percentage, 4.00 goals against average).
Montreal has lost 1.9 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 3-4 straight up (SU). Four of its outings have gone over the total, while two have gone under the total and just one has pushed. As a road team so far, the Canadiens are 1-2 SU.
The Habs have recorded a goal on 23.1 percent of their power play chances this year after successfully converting on 13.3 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (a mark that was ranked just 30th in the NHL). The team’s gone from successfully defending 80.9 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 11th overall last season) to 69.6 percent this year.
Carey Price (27.3 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal. Price owns a 3-3-1 record, while registering a .906 save percentage and 2.79 goals against average this year.
Montreal Canadiens at St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The Canadiens are 1-1 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Blues are 0-3 SU in games where they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their past five outings.
