An all-Canadian matchup between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens highlights a four-game slate in the National Hockey League tonight.
The Winnipeg Jets are Canada’s other team seeing action tonight as they visit the Colorado Avalanche. Elsewhere, the Boston Bruins host the Tampa Bay Lightning and the injury-depleted Anaheim Ducks travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues.
Our free NHL betting picks went 1-2 last night, winning the Hurricanes +0.5 in regulation time but losing on the Panthers Team Total Under 2.5 and the Stars/Golden Knights Over 6. We’re now 7-5 since starting to post picks regularly to the site last week, and hoping to rebound with a strong effort tonight.
NHL Betting Odds For Tonight
Here’s a look at the odds for each of those games as of Wednesday morning. The Lightning/Bruins matchup was off the board as oddsmakers were uncertain about the status of several injured Bruins, including Brad Marchand, David Backes and Ryan Spooner.
(For the latest odds, visit our Live Odds page.)
- Senators (+115) at Canadiens (-135), O/U 5.5
- Ducks (+175) at Blues (-210), O/U 5.5
- Jets (-130) at Avalanche (+110), O/U 6
NHL Predictions For Tonight
Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens
The Senators have been struggling ever since they returned from their two-game series in Sweden against the Avalanche. Whether that’s the reason or not for Ottawa’s slide, there’s no denying they’re in a funk. The Sens have been outscored 21-8 in their last 6 games, losing all 6.
Giving up goals with regularity is something the Senators have actually been doing most of the year, but the offensive woes are out of character. Ottawa has scored 2 goals or less in each of its last 6 games, coming on the heels of a stretch in which Ottawa lit the lamp at least 3 times in 12 of 14 outings. This is obviously a team playing without much confidence at the offensive end of the ice right now.
Montreal can relate to having goal-scoring issues. Even though the Canadiens are 2-0-1 in their last 3, they’ve been held to 2 goals or less in 4 of their last 5 and 5 of 7 (not including empty netters). Carey Price’s solid return to the net (1 goal against in his first 2 games back from injury, both Montreal victories) enables the Habs to win that way, and we don’t see them wanting to open things up tonight.
The Under is 6-1-1 in Montreal’s last 8 home games and 9-1-1 in the Canadiens’ last 11 overall. If this meeting were last year, we’d likely see an Over/Under of 5 in this spot, but the high-scoring start to the NHL season has oddsmakers consistently posting totals of 5.5 and then adjusting the juice on either side. We’ll take advantage in a game in which we don’t see both teams scoring 2 goals or more.
NHL betting prediction: Under 5.5 -118 (available at BetOnline)
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche
With the way the Jets are capable of filling the net, it’s easy to overlook how well Winnipeg is playing at its own end of the ice. A big part of that is a breakthrough campaign so far from Connor Hellebuyck, but the Jets have held 7 of their last 9 opponents to 2 goals or less.
Now they head to Colorado for a meeting with an Avalanche team that has seen its offensive production slow recently, potting 2 goals or less in 2 straight outings and 3 of its last 5. The Avs offence had been rolling before that but regression was to be expected, especially from a team that struggled to generate much last year and has since traded Matt Duchene. Gabriel Landeskog is suspended and out of the lineup for tonight, making it even harder for the Avalanche to find goals in this spot.
Winnipeg can go off offensively on any night and the Avs aren’t exactly a defensive powerhouse, although Colorado has held 3 of its last 6 opponents to 2 regulation time goals or less and that was with Jonathan Bernier in net for most of those games. Semyon Varlamov is expected to return tonight, which might be enough to keep a Jets team playing its 4th game in 6 nights (and this time at high altitude in Denver, exacerbating the fatigue factor) in check. Winnipeg has gone Under in 8 of its last 10 road games playing a defensive-minded game, and we expect more of the same here – especially with a high total of 6 to work with.
NHL betting prediction: Under 6 -104 (available at Pinnacle, BetOnline or 5Dimes)