Canadiens Current Form Will Lead Them To Victory

Canadiens vs. Red Wings, 7:00 ET

I got back on track yesterday with wins in both the NHL and College Basketball. I've been on a great run for those two sports over the past two weeks, and I'm looking to keep it going. If only the NBA was this easy. It makes a difference when players care and they actually try to consistently win all the games. Different story for a different day, I suppose. I want to keep the good energy going here so let's stay forced on the ice as the Canadiens take on the Red Wings tonight. 

The Canadiens are having a pretty nice campaign to begin their season with a solid 24-19-4 record. The road record is just an average 11-11-1 mark though so it doesn't give much encouragement as they take the ice away from home tonight. For the season, Montreal has put up about three goals per game, doing it on just 26 shots per game. They are also allowing 3.30 goals to opponents and they allow 29 shots to their opponents on average. I never like seeing teams give up more shots than they take, but with a winning record, I suppose it is working for now. Over the past five games the Canadiens have looked very good with a 4-1 record. Their one loss was a blowout loss, where they allowed seven goals. The four wins saw them allow a mix of goals, 4, 3, 2, and 1 goal to opponents in all four wins. They are a bit unpredictable. Even over those past five games, they are 3-2 to the over. Sam Montembeault will mind the net tonight for the Canadiens. He has a 17-16-3 record with 2.95 goals allowed to opponents in those games. He is right on the verge of a .900 save percentage with a .899 percentage. 

 

The Red Wings are an average squad to this point in the year. They are 21-21-5 for the season, and don't really have a difference between their home and road performances. On the home ice they are 12-11-2 for the year. Detroit has scored just 2.79 goals per game on 26 shot attempts, which isn't great, and has a lower efficiency than the Canadiens. The Red Wings are struggling a bit on defense as well, allowing 3.23 goals per game on 29 shots. That is better than the Canadiens, but not amazingly better. They still allow more shots to their opponents than they take which always puts you in a bad spot. They've struggled quite a bit lately with just one goal scored in three straight contests and four losses in their past five games. Four of those games came on the road. Cam Talbot will likely be in the net for the Red Wings tonight with an 11-10-2 record. He has a 3.07 goals against per game average and is also right at the .901 save percentage mark. 

With two evenly matched teams it can be hard to take a side on the game. They match up well, they have similar stats, and there is no clear edge for either goalie. There is no question which team is in better form, that would be the Canadiens though and I think the bodes well for them. Montreal also has won the first two games of the series and the games have seen six and seven goals. I'm going to back the Canadiens again here as I do think their current form is an edge in this one. 

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