The Montreal Canadiens (30-36-14) and the Detroit Red Wings (39-32-9) meet Monday night in the 1st game of a home and home series to wrap up the regular season. Puck drop at Little Caesars Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Canadiens vs. Red Wings odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
This is the 3rd matchup between these teams this season — the first 2 Games needed OT to decide a winner. Montreal cashed as a +165 road underdog in a 3-2 OT victory when RW Cole Caufield found the back of the net for the Game winner March 9. Detroit exacted revenge, on D Jake Walman’s goal, with a 5-4 overtime win Dec. 2, cashing as a -145 road favorite.
The Red Wings enter Monday with a 33.8% chance to make the postseason according to Moneypuck. They are 1 of 4 teams still alive for the Eastern Conference’s final Wild Card spot. Detroit is tied with Washington and Philadelphia at 87 points apiece, while Pittsburgh has 86 points.
Detroit’s easiest scenario? Beat Montreal twice and hope that Washington takes an L against either Boston Monday or at Philadelphia Tuesday — the Flyers only have the 1 game left. The Red Wings have not made the postseason since 2016.
Detroit captain Dylan Larkin, who scored the game winner in Saturday’s 5-4 OT win at Toronto, called Montreal a “dangerous team.” C Nick Suzuki is Montreal’s captain, and the 24-year-old leads the team in points (76) and goals (33), while he is 2nd in assists (43) behind D Mike Matheson (51).
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Canadiens at Red Wings odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:05 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Canadiens +176 (bet $100 to win $176) | Red Wings -215 (bet $215 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Canadiens +1.5 (-142) | Red Wings -1.5 (+118)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -106 | U: -114)
Canadiens at Red Wings projected goalies
Sam Montembeault (16-15-8, 3.10 GAA, .904 SV%, 0 SO) vs. Alex Lyon (20-18-5, 3.03 GAA, .906 SV%, 2 SO)
Montembeault has gotten the majority of the starts for Montreal after Jake Allen was dealt to New Jersey. The 27-year-old did not receive much support from Montreal’s offense in his last start. a 3-2 OT loss at the New York Islanders Thursday. The Canadiens were only able to muster 14 shots against the Isles, who finished with 31 shots.
Lyon has lost 3 of his last 4 starts after finally snapping a 10-game winless streak by beating Tampa Bay April 1. G James Reimer got the start in Detroit’s Saturday OT win at Toronto as coach Derek Lalonde said after the game that Lyon “looked a bit fatigued” after making his 6th straight start last Thursday.
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Canadiens at Red Wings picks and predictions
Prediction
Canadiens 4, Red Wings 3
Moneyline
BET MONTREAL (+176).
Detroit enters Monday with the least amount of high danger chances in the Eastern Conference (137), plus Montreal blocks the 5th-most shots in the league (1,250) so Montembeault may feel more pressure from the Detroit crowd than their actual offense. Plus, this Canadiens team is 4th-youngest in the NHL, so don’t expect them to be playing with heavy legs as they close out their season.
Puck line/Against the spread
PASS.
Too much juice to lay for me personally, although both of these teams are top 5 in average time tied per game so I don’t think it’s a bad bet to take the puck and a half with the Habs +1.5 (-142).
Over/Under
BET OVER 6.5 (-106).
Lyon surrendered 6 goals in his last start and Montembeault has given up at least 3 goals in each of his last 4 starts. There is certainly the chance that this Game gets decided in OT just like the prior 2 meetings and combining the OVER with YES on “Will There Be Overtime” on FanDuel pays out roughly +680.
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