The Montreal Canadiens (20-25-3) welcome the Detroit Red Wings (20-18-8) at Bell Centre on Thursday. Detroit is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Sharks on Tuesday. The Red Wings committed only two penalties in the game, holding San Jose without a power play goal.
Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, and Adam Erne each scored once for the Red Wings. Rasmussen added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Ville Husso had a great performance with 28 saves (.933%) in the win.
Montreal is playing their last of five games at home after a 4-2 loss against the Bruins on Tuesday. Kirby Dach scored twice to lead the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault saved only 25 of 28 shots against (.892%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have split their two meetings this season, the most recent of which was a 3-2 (SO) victory for the Canadiens in November. Mike Hoffman (2G 0A) and Brendan Gallagher (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Montreal. Austin Czarnik and Lucas Raymond were on the scoresheet for Detroit. Jake Allen got the win, saving 41 of 43 shots (.953%).
FACING OFF
Detroit is averaging 3.04 goals per game for the season, 22nd in the NHL, and they are taking on a Canadiens team that is allowing 3.65 goals a game (28th).
Meanwhile, Montreal has found the net 2.56 times a game on average, 30th in the league, and the Red Wings are allowing opponents to score 3.30 goals per game (20th).
Montreal averages fewer shots per game (27.8) than most teams in the league, ranking 30th. With an average of 29.5 attempts, Detroit ranks 25th.
Look for multiple power play opportunities for the Red Wings, as the Canadiens have been penalized 4.65 times a game, second-most in the NHL, for an average of 12.90 minutes (first-highest).
The visitors are averaging 3.37 penalties (3rd-fewest in the league) and 7.17 penalty minutes a game (3rd-fewest). The Canadiens’ 15.33% power play percentage is the second-worst in the league, while the Red Wings rank 20th with a conversion rate of 20.25%.
When it comes to penalty killing, Detroit has the league’s 21st-ranked PK% at 75.76%, while Montreal is 25th at 74.12%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 42 points this season, Dylan Larkin is the top skater for the Red Wings. He has 15 goals and 27 assists in 45 games. In the net, Husso (15-11-5) is Detroit’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 3.03 GAA and a .901% save percentage.
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield lead the Canadiens in scoring with 38 and 36 points, respectively. Suzuki has 16 goals and 22 assists, while Caufield has 26 goals (9th) and 10 assists ().
Montembeault (10-8-2) has the best goals against average for Montreal at 3.14. He has a save percentage of .911%. Allen (10-16-1) has played the most games in net for the Canadiens this season. He has a 3.52 GAA and a .892% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Detroit is 8-8-5 away from home this season. Montreal is 11-13-0 at Bell Centre this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
over 6 goals (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
