The Colorado Avalanche (17-11-2) host the Montreal Canadiens (15-15-2) at Ball Arena on Wednesday. Montreal is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Coyotes on Monday, ending a three-game losing streak. The Canadiens committed only two penalties in the game, holding Arizona without a power play goal.
Christian Dvorak, Mike Hoffman, and Cole Caufield each scored once for the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault saved an impressive 37 of 39 shots (.948%) in the win.
Colorado is playing their last of five games at home after a 1-0 shootout win over the Islanders on Monday. 19 players found the net for the Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev earned his first shutout of the season with 26 saves.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Avalanche won both games between the teams last season, including a 3-2 (OT) victory in their final meeting in January, their third straight win against Montreal.
Devon Toews led Colorado with three points (0G 3A). Nick Suzuki led Montreal with two points (1G 1A). Darcy Kuemper got the win, saving 28 of 30 shots (.933%).
FACING OFF
Montreal is averaging 2.75 goals per game for the season, 27th in the NHL, and they are taking on an Avalanche team that is allowing 2.67 goals a game (6th). Meanwhile, Colorado has found the net 2.93 times a game on average, 23rd in the league, and the Canadiens are allowing opponents to score 3.50 goals per game (24th).
Montreal averages fewer shots (28.7) than most teams in the league, ranking 30th. Colorado has proven to be one of the league’s better shot-stopping teams, ranking No. 4 with a team save percentage of .920%.
The Canadiens’ 13.59% power play percentage is the lowest in the league, while the Avalanche rank sixth with a conversion rate of 27.18%. In terms of penalty killing, Montreal has the league’s 16th-ranked PK% at 78.95%, while Colorado is 21st at 76.29%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 31 points this season, Suzuki is the top skater for the Canadiens. He has 15 goals and 16 assists in 32 games. In the net, Montembeault (5-3-2) is Montreal’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.99 GAA and a .908% save percentage.
Jake Allen (9-12-0) leads the Canadiens in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.33 and a save percentage of .897%. Mikko Rantanen leads the Avalanche in scoring with 38 points.
He has 21 goals (5th) and 17 assists. Georgiev (12-6-2) has the best goals against average for Colorado at 2.59. He has a save percentage of .920%.
HOME AND AWAY
Montreal is 8-6-2 on the road this season. Colorado is 8-5-2 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+100)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
