Logan Couture, Brent Burns, and the San Jose Sharks will do battle against Max Domi, Jonathan Drouin, and the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre for a cross-continent tilt. This one will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 2 and it is being shown live on Sportsnet.
San Jose Sharks vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds
Montreal is 12-14 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed improvement compared to how the team performed during last year’s regular season (29-53). Through 26 regular season outings, 12 of its games have gone over the total, while an additional 12 have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 7-7 SU at home.
The Canadiens have converted on just 15.4 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that places them in the bottom-5 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 78.6 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 26.8 saves per game with a .898 save percentage, Carey Price (8-11-4) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Habs this year. Price did just play yesterday, however, so the team may choose to give him a breather and instead go with Antti Niemi (4-3-3 record, .893 save percentage, 3.61 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, San Jose is 12-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. 15 of its games have gone over the total, while 11 have gone under the total and none have pushed. As the visiting team , the Sharks are 4-10 SU.
The Sharks have converted on 22.7 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked third overall and it’s successfully killed off 85.2 percent of all penalties.
Martin Jones (3.12 goals against average and .887 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for San Jose. Jones is averaging 24.5 saves per game and has nine wins, nine losses, and three overtime losses to his credit.
San Jose Sharks vs. Montreal Canadiens Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Sharks are 3-4 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canadiens are 4-6 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
Montreal is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while San Jose is 0-2 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of Montreal’s last five outings.
San Jose is ranked 10th this season with 8.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended higher, as the team’s averaged 10.3 giveaways over its last 10 games and 11.0 giveaways over its last five.
Montreal skaters have averaged 13.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 11.1 giveaways per game (ranked 23rd overall).
The Habs this season have registered the fourth-most hits in the NHL (26.7 per game), but that average has jumped up to 32.6 over their past five home outings.
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