Canadiens Will Pulverize Penguins

Penguins vs. Canadiens, 7:00 ET

I wasn't quite correct yesterday as the Rangers only beat Buffalo by one goal yesterday. If you played the moneyline you won, if you played the puck line as I suggested, you lost. Side note, thanks to The Office, every time I write Sabres, all I hear is Saab-Ray. If you aren't familiar with what I'm taking about, it really isn't a big deal, but it is the way the characters pronounce the new company, Sabre (Say-Burr), the first few times they read it. I always enjoy combining my love of pop culture with my love of sports betting, but I doubt we will get any more pop culture references as we put a bet on the Penguins and Canadiens who face off tonight.

The Penguins come into the game with a 12-14-4 record. While the record isn't terrible, it certainly leaves room for improvement. The team already has suffered through two separate three-game losing streaks and another six-game skid. So, 12 of their 18 losses/ties came from those streaks. They are playing better hockey as of late with wins in five of their last seven games. Like many teams, when they win, they find the net four or five times, but when they lose, they typically score only one or two goals. One area where the Penguins have struggled is on the road, where they play tonight, having just a 4-7-2 record. Tonight, they will likely have goalie Tristan Jarry in net. For the season, Jarry is 5-4-1, allowing 3.81 goals against per game, and has just a .881 save percentage. In order for the Penguins to capture a win, Jarry has to improve on both of those numbers. I am not sure if it is a case of him facing too many shots per game, but the Penguins do allow 32 shots against them on average. 

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 23:  Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates after scoring his 600th goal in the second period against the Utah Hockey Club at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 23, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Canadiens are no better than the Penguins when it comes to their record as they enter the contest with an 11-14-3 record. However, they do have a winning mark at home, going 8-6-2. For Montreal, it was a very slow start to the season. After winning two of their first three games, they dropped 10 of their next 12 (two of them were overtime losses, but still losses nonetheless). After that streak, their record was 4-9-2, so since that point, they've gone 7-5-1, which still isn't spectacular, but at least a bit better. This will be the fifth, and final, game of their home stand, one that has seen them win three of the first four games. There is a pretty sharp difference between going 4-1 on a home stand and 3-2. This is a big opportunity for them to have a bit of momentum as they head onto the road. They are going to put Sam Montembeault in the net tonight. He has a 9-11-2 record with a 2.83 goals against per game average, and a .906%. He's been pretty strong over these past four games, allowing two or fewer goals in the three victories.

For this one, I think both teams are playing fairly well, but the Canadiens are playing better right now and have the better goalie. Sometimes there doesn't have to be a ton more to handicapping than that. Give me Montreal in this one to win the game.