Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens - Predictions and Odds

Where: Bell Centre- Montreal, PQ., Canada

When: Tuesday, November 5, 7:30 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): NBC Sports | WFAN

Boston Bruins (Away)

Head Coach: Bruce Cassidy{All-Time 174-100-9-31 BOST, WSH}

Sitting in first place in the Atlantic division, the Boston Bruins have looked almost unbeatable this season. Coming off of a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, the Bruins have lost just once in regulation and have put together an incredible record thus far of 10-1-2.

They have lost their last five straight games heading into Montreal on Tuesday night.

Offense

Often criticized for a lack of depth scoring beyond their first line, the Bruins continue to seem unaffected by what the pundits say.

Their first line, consisting of NHL goal leader and points leader David Pastrnak, the NHL’s leader in plus-minus Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron seems to be more than enough for the team to coast into the playoffs this season.

The depth of the team comes from their defensive effort as the Bruins have always had a reputation of being one of the best back-checking teams in the league.

The Bruins average just over 3.5 goals per game and just over 33 shots.

The team also has the first-place power play in the league with a 32.6 percent success rate.

They are 15th in the league with a 50 percent success rate in the faceoff circle and 11th in the league with a 10.5 shooting percentage.

Pastrnak leads the league with 13 goals and 27 points.

Defense

As stated, the Bruins are a tough team to get around and an even harder team to score on.

The Bruins average an allowance of only 2 goals per game – the first-place average in the league.

They have allowed only a combined 23 goals against this season – less than any other team.

They have allowed the 15th-most shots against and average an allowance of 30.5 shots per game.

Their biggest issue is taking penalties.

The Bruins average more than ten penalty minutes per game and it’s rather astounding that they still with the seventh-best penalty-killing unit in the league.

Goaltending

All-Star goaltender and most likely future Hall of Famer Tuukka Rask is expected to get the start in this rivalry game against Montreal. Rask has gone 7-0-1 this season with a goals-against-average of 1.49 and a save percentage of .949.

He has also already registered two shutouts.

He currently leads all goaltenders in GAA, save percentage, and shutouts.

Montreal Canadiens (Home)

Head Coach: Peter DeBoer{All-Time 634-414-10-141 BOS, MON}

The Montreal Canadiens have been playing rather in the middle of the pack so far this season.

Coming off of a loss to the Dallas Stars, the Canadiens have gone 6-4-0 in their last ten games and have an overall record of 7-5-2 this season – good enough for fifth in the Atlantic division.

Offense

The Montreal Canadiens stack up fairly well against the Boston Bruins heading into their game and shouldn’t be written off.

They average more goals per game than the Bruins by a hair and average more shots on net as well.

The volume of shots could mean everything against a goalie like Tuukka Rask.

They also have a 10.4 shooting percentage – just one rank below the Bruins.

Their weaknesses come in the faceoff circle and the power play.

Montreal has a struggling 48.1 percent in the faceoff dot – good enough for 25th in the league.

Their power play is ranked 15 with a 20.8 percent success rate.

Not bad, but not good compared to the Bruins first-place ranking in the category.

Defense

Unlike the Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens have been pretty good about staying out of the penalty box. However, when they do take the occasional penalty, they just can’t seem to kill them off.

Montreal sits with a killing percentage of just 69.8 – ranking them at 29th in the league at killing penalties. They also allow, on average, have more shots against and goals against the Bruins by a fairly wide margin.

Goaltending

Facing off against one future Hall of Famer will be another in Carey Price. Price should get the start in net Tuesday night for Montreal. The long-time starter has a record this year of 6-4-1. His goals-against average is 2.64 and he has a .915 save percentage with one shutout.

These two teams haven’t faced one another since last season. On January 14, the Montreal Canadiens were the team to come out on top over the Bruins with a final score of 3-2.

What’s at Stake for Bruins vs Canadiens?

There’s a lot of time between now and the start of the playoffs, but every game against a divisional rival has stakes.

Any time you lose, that’s two points to your opponent which makes them two steps closer to a playoff spot. These two teams will face each other three more times this season after this game and division points aren’t points that can be made up anywhere else.

They are the most crucial for any team looking to secure a playoff berth – no matter how early in the season.

Questions to Answer

How will the goaltending matchup go?

Two future hall-of-fame, franchise goalies go head-to-head Tuesday night.

Will it come down to a goaltending showcase between the two or will goaltending essentially become a non-factor?

Will the Montreal Canadiens be able to contain Boston’s first line that includes the NHL’s leading goal scorer David Pastrnak?

Will they be able to control that line without taking needless penalties?

Should they take penalties, can Montreal do anything to improve upon their penalty kill heading into Tuesday night?

Or will special teams be their undoing against Boston?

D John Moore – IR/NR (shoulder)

F David Backes – OUT (upper-body)

D Kevan Miller – IR/NR (kneecap)

F Joakim Nordstrom – OUT (infection)

F Anton Blidh – IR/NR (shoulder)

F Karson Kuhlman – DL (leg)

F Par Lindholm – OUT (upper-body)

Montreal Canadiens Injury Report

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi – DL (groin)

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens – Game Odds

The odds for the Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens game are provided by Draftkings Sportsbook, bet365 NJ, and Caesars NJ.

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