Red Wings vs. Canadiens Odds
| Red Wings Odds | -150 |
| Canadiens Odds | +125 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 -105 / -115 |
The Red Wings enter Saturday's matchup holding a three-point cushion in the wild card race, having won four of the last five games. Their play has not been as solid on the road, where they own a record of 4-4-1. Even still, Detroit is a -150 favorite in Montreal in this contest.
Montreal was the oddsmakers third-favorite to finish last in the league this year, but has scrapped its way to a 10-11-2 record despite a tough injury situation. The Canadiens have consistently brought a professional compete level to every game but rarely had the ability to pull away on the scoreboard.
Let's dive into the latest NHL betting odds as well as my Red Wings vs. Canadiens preview and prediction for Saturday, December 2.
Detroit Red Wings
As we move past the NHL's quarter way point, the Red Wings record of 12-7-3 offers them a healthy chance to snap a seven season playoff drought. They continue to prove doubters such as myself wrong, and enter this matchup off of a quality performance at home versus Chicago.
Alex Debrincat has been a difference maker in his first season with the Wings, as he is pacing the team in goals (12), and points (21). His strong play has been one of several reasons that they have been an offensive powerhouse in the early going. Their 3.68 goals for per game ranks fourth in the NHL.
The underlying numbers are not overly convinced that the Wings are a true offensive powerhouse though. In the month of November they put up an xGF/60 of only 2.95, which was the sixth lowest mark league wide. That data doesn't tell the whole story, but it still makes a strong case that Detroit is going to regress offensively.
The Wings are expected to see Captain Dylan Larkin return the lineup Saturday, which helps considerably in all areas of the ice.
Ville Husso is expected to get the start in goal for the Red Wings, but it also would not be shocking to see them ride the hot hand with Alex Lyon. Husso owns a -1.3 GSAx and .892 save % in 12 games played this season.
Use our BetMGM bonus code for bonus bets before making your Red Wings vs. Canadiens picks.
Montreal Canadiens
Despite a modest 10-11-2 record, Canadiens fans should be proud of the teams play thus far relative to expectations. They are a clear rebuilding team, which holds far less strong NHL talents than the average roster. Especially as they have consistently had four or more NHL regulars out of the lineup, including quality pieces such as Kirby Dach, and Rafael Harvey-Pinard.
The Canadiens roster makeup suggests they are not likely to own much of the overall run of play, which has been the case recently. They played to a 45.4% expected goal rating in November, and generated only 26.25 shots for per 60.
The greater focus for Montreal has often looked to be to preventing complete defensive breakdowns, and try to find opportunistic scoring at the other end.
We have seen it play a lot of closely fought games, particularly on the better nights where points where collected. The Canadiens haven't won a game by three goals this season. They have only won by two goals twice, with one coming Thursday in Columbus after Gustav Lindstrom's empty netter.
Sam Montembeault is the Canadiens projected starter for this matchup, but the difference between he and Jake Allen is not significant from a handicapping perspective.
Montembeault was rewarded for his strong start to the season with a three-year, $9.45 million contract extension Friday. He owns a +2.7 GSAx and .910 save % in ten appearances this season.
Use our FanDuel Promo Code to get the most out of your NHL action.
Red Wings vs. Canadiens
Betting Pick & Prediction
Detroit's offense still seems likely to come down to earth somewhat over a larger sample. When it does the greater team strength will likely prove to be goal suppression. Strong defensive play is more what coach Derek Lalonde is known for instilling in his teams. The Red Wings recent underlying results already agree that they are not playing overly high event hockey.
No team shows more of a mindset to simply hang around in contests, and hope to not make more mistakes than the Canadiens. They haven't blown anyone out of the water this season, but have collected by points with an ability to avoid significant breakdowns. That strength has often allowed their goalies to shine making mainly the saves they are supposed to.
Eight of Montreal's 23 games this season have required an overtime session. They have played a number of low scoring games recently as well, and that makes sense watching their playing style.
This figures to be a highly competitive game between divisional teams, who should play relatively low scoring hockey moving forward. A total of 6.5 looks high for this particular matchup, and I like a bet on the under at anything better than -130.
This also seems like a good time to consider backing the trend of Canadiens games going past regulation, as close score lines throughout seem likely. A sprinkle on regulation tie at anything better than +345 is also worthy of a play.
Pick: Under 6.5 -112 (Play 6.5 to -130), Regulation Tie +360 (Play to +345)
