Canadiens vs Red Wings Betting Line
The Montreal Canadiens (18-8-2, 38 pts) venture down from Montreal to battle the Detroit Red Wings (17-6-3, 37 pts) in Friday’s featured game in the NHL. BetOnline.com is offering 1.65 on the money line for the Red Wings, and the puckline is 3.00. For the Canadiens, BetOnline is offering a money line of 2.35, and the puckline is -240. The over/under is 5.5 (+125 o/-145 u). The game will begin at 7 pm at the Joe Louis Arena.
*For all of the latest odds, check out our NHL betting lines page. It has an automatically updated feed from the Bodog Sportsbook.
Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings Game Preview
When two of the Original Six get together there is always great tradition and rivalry. This game between the Canadiens and Red Wings should be another great matchup. Lets take a look.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal stands atop the Northeast Division with 38 points and one the league’s best goals against averages. Les’ Habitants are one of the biggest surprises this year and once again doing well without top defenseman Andrei Markov. The big reason is the resurgence of goaltender Carey Price. Given a vote of confidence by the coaching staff and ownership with the trade of Jaroslav Halak, Price leads the league in goals against and is in the top five in save percentage. Oddly enough, so is Halak but such is the nature of the game today. Not enough money to go around.
The Canadiens offer three lines of balanced scoring led by Tomas Plekanec and Scott Gomez. The two veteran centers have helped Jeff Halpern rise to 15 points so far this season giving Montreal threats on all lines. Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn have tallied 19 points each and are tough down low. Roman Hamerlik has been the star on the blueline with 15 points with PK Subban, Josh Gorges and Jaroslav Spacek also having standout seasons to date.
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are younger, faster and tougher than previous teams, and as such, sit atop the Central Division. The best offense in the NHL, at 3.4 goals per game is led by Pavel Datsuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and the ageless defenseman Niklas Lidstrom. Todd Bertuzzi and Daniel Cleary are also over 18 points for the year.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard has been solid but not spectacular and Detroit can be beaten by a hot netminder – witness San Jose Shark goalie Antti Niemi stopping 25 of 27 Red Wing shots allowing only two power play goals. The wide open style played by Detroit can lead to odd man rushes leaving Howard at times helpless against good snipers. Yet, the Red Wings have only lost five times in regulation this season.
Hockey Night in Canada will be all over this match-up and it should prove to be worth the hype.
Montreal Canadiens @ Detroit Red Wings Free Prediction
Expect a tight contest early on and if Montreal gets ahead, the Canadiens will have the advantage. The Habs power play has been hot of late and will make the difference in the game. If Detroit can play the game at even strength, they have too many weapons to be beaten. The bet here goes with Montreal, maybe in a shootout.
Since I like prefer the Canadiens anyway, I’m glad to take them on the money line at 2.35 at BetOnline.com.
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