Bell Centre is playing host to an Original Six showdown as the Montreal Canadiens take on the visiting Detroit Red Wings. This one will get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, October 15 and it can be caught live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds
The Canadiens are 2-2 straight up (SU) and have earned 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is fairly close to the 29-53 record the team posted during the 2017-18 season campaign. This season, the team’s 1-1 SU at home.
Montreal has successfully converted on 11.8 percent of its power play opportunities thus far. That’s a big drop-off from last season, when it was ranked ninth in the league by scoring on 21.3 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has improved nicely year-over-year as it’s gone from successfully defending 74.1 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 30th overall last season) to 81.8 percent this year.
Montreal, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.0 times per game this season, a number that’s improved from last year’s 3.8 penalties per game the team gave up. After serving an average of 8.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to kill penalties for 8.0 minutes per outing this season.
With a .909 save percentage and 23.3 saves per game, Carey Price (1-2-1) has been the principal option in goal for the Canadiens this season. If head coach Claude Julien decides to give him a rest, however, the team might roll with Antti Niemi (1-0 record, .893 save percentage, 2.77 goals against average).
Paul Byron and Jeff Petry will both lead the way for the Canadiens. Byron (four points) has tallied two goals and two assists while Petry has four assists to his credit so far in the early stages of the season.
On the other hand, Detroit is 0-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through five regular season contests, three of its games has gone over the total, while two have gone under the total and none have pushed. Detroit’s 0-3 SU as the road team this season.
Detroit’s scored on 26.7 percent of its power play chances this year after converting on 17.5 percent of its extra-man opportunities last season (a percentage that was ranked just 23rd in league-wide). The team’s gone from successfully defending 77.6 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 23rd overall last season) to 78.9 percent this year.
Detroit’s skaters have been penalized 5.4 times per game this season, a number that has climbed noticeably from the 3.7 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.0 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to kill penalties for a whopping 14.4 minutes per outing this season.
The winless Jimmy Howard (30.3 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Detroit. Howard has zero wins, three losses, and two overtime losses to his credit, and has registered a .910 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Red Wings will be Dylan Larkin (three goals, two assists) and Gustav Nyquist (zero goals, four assists).
Detroit Red Wings at Montreal Canadiens Betting Picks
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone over in three of Detroit’s last five outings.
Detroit has managed 31.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Montreal is averaging 40.0 shots per game over its last five home outings.
The Canadiens are 0-1 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Red Wings are 0-3 SU when they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
Detroit has allowed 4.6 goals per game (while managing just 2.2 goals per contest) over its last five games (0-5 SU over that span).
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