NHL Odds, Prediction: Canadiens vs Predators Preview (March 5)
John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images. Pictured: Juuse Saros.
Canadiens vs Predators Odds
| Canadiens Odds | +176 |
| Predators Odds | -215 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 +100 / -122 |
Here's everything you need to know about the Montreal Canadiens vs Nashville Predators on Tuesday, March 5 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
The Predators have won eight straight games, so what are the odds Montreal will be able to end that streak? Canadiens vs Predators odds have the Predators listed as -215 favorites on the moneyline while the Canadiens are +176 underdogs (via FanDuel).
Let's preview this Tuesday night NHL contest and get into my Canadiens vs Predators prediction.
With Friday's trade deadline looming, it wouldn't be shocking if the Canadiens scratched one or more players tonight to protect them in any potential deal. After all, with a 23-28-10 record, Montreal is an obvious candidate to be a seller.
Montreal already traded Sean Monahan to Winnipeg on Feb. 2, and the fact that he's still the Canadiens' fourth-best scorer with 35 points is telling.
The Canadiens have a promising young duo in Nick Suzuki (24 goals, 59 points) and Cole Caufield (19 goals, 48 points), as well as a great offensive defenseman in Mike Matheson (eight goals, 43 points), but that's basically it.
Juraj Slafkovsky is having an okay sophomore season, but his 13 goals and 31 points through 61 appearances is somewhat disappointing considering he was the first overall pick in the 2022 draft.
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Beyond Slafkovsky, Montreal has no other player with more than 20 points. To put that in perspective, the average team has 9.7 players with more than 21 points (310 players have reached that mark in total). Excluding Monahan, the Canadiens have four, so their offensive depth is non-existent.
The result is the Canadiens have the 27th-ranked offense with 2.77 goals per game. However, an underwhelming offense alone is not what's tanked their campaign.
Montreal is also tied for 26th defensively with 3.49 goals per game. The Canadiens haves three goaltenders on their roster and even the best of them, Sam Montembeault, has just a 13-10-5 record, 3.15 GAA and .904 save percentage across 29 contests.
To be fair to those netminders, the Canadiens are 27th with an xGA/60 of 3.29, which suggests that the defense in front of them is a major issue.
Whatever the case, Montreal will have a difficult time containing a red-hot team like the Predators.
Nashville's recent success starts with Juuse Saros. The 28-year-old goaltender is having a down season by his standards with a 26-21-2 record, 2.82 GAA and .908 save percentage through 49 contests, but lately, he's been showing why he's regarded as one of the top goaltenders of this era.
Saros has won his last six starts while allowing just eight goals on 175 shots (.954 save percentage). Given the state of Montreal's attack, it shouldn't be able to accomplish much as long as Saros remains sharp.
Not that Saros has needed it, but Nashville has also been providing plenty of offensive support over its hot streak, scoring at least four goals in each contest.
Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg have been major contributors during that stretch with 10 and nine points, respectively, over the last eight contests, but Nashville's depth has also come alive.
The Predators have 12 different players who have supplied at least two goals over the past eight games. That list includes Thomas Novak, who has two goals and seven points in his last eight appearances and will be looking to have a big night fresh off signing his three-year, $10.5 million extension on Monday.
Of course, it is fair to wonder how long the Predators' attackers can keep this up this pace. After suffering an embarrassing 9-2 loss to Dallas on Feb. 15 — the last contest before the streak started — Nashville was just 19th offensively with 2.96 goals per game, so this is a fairly middling forward group under normal circumstances.
Still, given the leaky defense Montreal has, the Predators are likely to find success regardless.
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Canadiens vs. Predators
Betting Pick & Prediction
Between the state of the Canadiens and Nashville's recent play, the Predators are unsurprisingly billed as overwhelming favorites. I don't expect the their streak to last much longer, but Montreal isn't a great candidate to end it, especially after the Predators sailed to a clean 5-1 victory over a far tougher Colorado squad on Saturday.
I feel comfortable recommending Nashville on the puck line where the spread is 1.5 goals in favor of Montreal.
Pick: Predators -1.5 puck line (+120 | play down to +100)
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