Two squads that’ve positioned themselves squarely in the playoff picture, the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres take the ice at the KeyBank Center. Reseau Des Sports will showcase this divisional matchup, which gets underway at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, November 23.
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres Odds
Playing the role of favorite will be Buffalo (-135), whereas Montreal is an underdog showing moneyline odds of +115, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -105 for the over and -115 for the under.
The Sabres are 14-8 straight up (SU) and have earned moneyline bettors 9.3 units this season. That winning percentage, ranked fourth in the league in this young season, is a remarkable improvement over the 25-57 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Of the team’s 22 games this season, 12 have gone over the total, while nine have gone under and just one has pushed. This season, the team’s 7-3 SU at home.
Buffalo has converted on 18.1 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 sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.5 percent of all penalties.
Buffalo, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties just 3.5 times per game overall this season, and 2.4 per game over its last five games. The team’s had to defend opposition power plays for just 6.4 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Sporting a .917 save percentage and 27.4 saves per game, Carter Hutton (10-7-1) has been the principal option in goal for the Sabres this year. If head coach Phil Housley decides to give him the day off, however, the team may roll with Linus Ullmark (5-1-1 record, .922 save percentage, 2.65 goals against average).
The Sabres will continue to lean on the offensive production via Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner. Eichel (25 points) has tallied five goals and 20 assists and has recorded multiple points in nine different games this year. Skinner has 15 goals and eight assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 13 games.
Montreal has earned 1.7 units for moneyline bettors this season and is currently 11-11 straight up (SU). Through 22 regular season matches, 12 of its games have gone over the total, while nine have gone under the total and just one has pushed. Montreal’s 5-6 SU as a road team this season.
Montreal has converted on just 13.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 19th overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.9 percent of all penalties.
Montreal’s players have been called for penalties 3.9 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five match ups. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price (3.17 goals against average and .895 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal. Price is averaging 27.3 saves per game and owns a 7-9-4 record.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Canadiens will be Max Domi (11 goals, 15 assists) and Jonathan Drouin (eight goals, 11 assists).
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Buffalo’s last five outings.
Montreal has attempted 32.5 shots per game overall this season (ranked 13th in the NHL), and 32.0 in its last 10 games.
The Sabres are 4-3 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canadiens are 4-4 SU in games where they serve more minutes than the opposition.
Buffalo is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Montreal is 2-0 in shootouts.
Buffalo is ranked 30th in the league with 4.9 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended upward recently, as it has averaged 6.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.2 takeaways over its last five.
Montreal skaters have averaged 5.8 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.4 takeaways per game (ranked 17th).
+++++
