In a game that features two teams on winning streaks, the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens face off at Bell Centre. This Eastern Conference matchup gets started at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, January 27 and it is being televised live on NBC Sports Washington.
Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens Odds
This matchup’s moneyline and Over/Under odds have not been posted by bookmakers yet.
Washington is 33-16 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 8.3 units this year. Through 49 regular season matches, 31 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and none have pushed. The Caps are 18-7 SU on the road in 2019-20.
Washington has converted on 20.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Additionally, it has the fourth-strongest penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 84.2 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Washington has been called for penalties 4.2 times per game overall this season, and 5.6 per game over its last five on the road. The team’s been forced to defend opponent power plays just 8.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .897 save percentage and 25.7 saves per game, Braden Holtby (19-14-4) has been the top option in goal for Washington this year. If head coach Todd Reirden chooses to rest him, however, the team might go with Ilya Samsonov (15-4-1), who has a .927 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average this year.
John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin will both lead the way for the visiting Capitals. Carlson has 60 points on 13 goals and 47 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 18 different games. Ovechkin has 34 goals and 16 assists to his creditand has notched a point in 29 games.
On the other side of the ice, Montreal is 22-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. 25 of its matches have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just two have pushed. The team’s 10-16 SU at home this year.
Montreal has converted on 20.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.9 percent of all opponent power plays.
Montreal players have been penalized only 3.3 times per game this season, and 2.0 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties 8.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price has stopped 27.7 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for Montreal. Price has 20 wins, 20 losses, and four OT losses to his name and has registered a pedestrian 2.84 goals against average and a subpar .908 save percentage this year.
The Habs will be led on offense by Tomas Tatar (17 goals, 26 assists).
Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Penalties and power plays may be critical in the outcome of this one. The Capitals are 10-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 16-8 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Canadiens are 7-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 17-20 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Montreal is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-2 in shootouts.
- Montreal is ranked 19th in the NHL with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower lately, however, as the team has forced 5.7 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.4 takeaways over its last five.
- Washington has allowed just 4.3 goals per game (while scoring 2.0 per contest) over their three-game winning streak.
- Washington skaters have forced 6.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.8 takeaways per game (ranked 14th overall).
- Washington may hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s an impressive 15-8 in games decided by one goal, while Montreal is only 10-17 in such games.
