Bell Centre will be hosting an East-West matchup as the St. Louis Blues pay a visit to Quebec to face the Montreal Canadiens. The action will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 5, and you are able to catch it live on Reseau Des Sports.
St. Louis Blues at Montreal Canadiens Odds
Montreal (+100) is playing the role of underdog to Montreal (-120), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-130 to bet the under, +110 for the over).
St. Louis is 17-10 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.3 units this season. 14 of its games have gone under the total, while 13 have gone over and none have pushed. The Blue Notes are 8-5 SU as an away team in 2017-18.
St. Louis has converted on 17.5 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and the teams successfully killed off 77.6 percent of its penalties.
St. Louis, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.6 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, 3.2 per game over its past five games total, and 4.0 per game over its last five on the road. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .907 save percentage and 25.3 saves per game, Jake Allen (13-9-2) has been the primary option in goal for St. Louis this year. If head coach Mike Yeo chooses to rest him, however, St. Louis could turn to Carter Hutton (4-3), who has a .937 save percentage and 1.90 goals against average this year.
Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn will both lead the way for the visiting Blues. Schwartz has 32 points on 13 goals and 19 assists, and has recorded two or more points in nine different games. Schenn has 10 goals and 20 assists to his credit, and has logged a point in 16 games.
On the other side of the ice, Montreal is 13-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 28 regular season contests, 13 of its games have gone over the total, while another 13 have gone under and just two have pushed. This year, the team is 8-7 SU as the home team.
Montreal has converted on 17.9 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 26th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.2 percent of all penalties.
Montreal players have been sent to the penalty box 4.0 times per game in total this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 6.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Carey Price has stopped 26.8 shots per game as the primary option in goal for Montreal. Price has eight wins, eight losses, and one overtime loss and has recorded a pedestrian 2.94 goals against average and a subpar .905 save percentage this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Brendan Gallagher (13 goals, six assists).
St. Louis Blues vs. Montreal Canadiens Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- Montreal is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 2-0 in shootouts.
- The total has gone under in three of Montreal’s last five outings.
- This game features two clubs that put the puck on net a lot. St. Louis has attempted the league’s sixth-most shots on goal (34.6) while Montreal has attempted the sixth-most (34.7).
- Montreal has scored 2.8 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 4.8 per contest across its five-game winning streak.
- Six of Montreal’s last ten contests have been decided by two or more goals, and the team is 4-2 overall in those games.
- This game features two of the more physical teams in the league. St. Louis skaters have accounted for the league’s ninth-most hits per game (23.4) while the Habs have tallied the sixth-most (24.1).
