Canadiens vs. Capitals Pick
Are the Montreal Canadiens and host Washington Capitals going to play a game filled with many goals Saturday night at 7:00PM EST?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Capitals are set as a -145 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Canadiens are a +125 underdog and the over-under sits at 5.
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The four meetings between the two teams last year were split 2-2, with the over-under going 1-1-2.
Montreal is 1-0-0 after a 3-2 shootout win at Buffalo Thursday night. Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault each scored a goal in regulation for Montreal, while Jonathan Drouin tallied the lone score in the shootout. Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Shea Weber and Karl Alzner all notched an assist. Carey Price stopped 43 shots and did not allow anything past him in the shootout to earn the win.
Washington is also 1-0-0 after a 5-4 shootout win at Ottawa Thursday night. Alex Ovechkin scored a hat trick to lead the way, putting in all three goals in the third period. Brett Connolly also had a goal in the win. Evgeny Kuznetzov had three assists, while Jakub Vrana added two assists. Kuznetzov had the deciding score in the shootout. Braden Holtby made 28 saves in the win.
The Capitals showed their firepower in the opener and Ovechkin looks primed to have a huge year. It’s a Washington team that has had plenty of playoff disappointments, but it certainly has to add fuel to its fire at the outset of this season. Holtby was strong in goal a year ago and is the likely candidate to be in net for this game. While Price is an outstanding goalie and Montreal has some playmakers such as Pacioretty, it doesn’t seem they’ll have enough to keep pace with the Caps.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: WASHINGTON CAPITALS -145