It is Game 1 of the NHL semifinals between the Montréal Canadiens and the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. Montréal swept Winnipeg to advance while it took Vegas six games to knock off the Colorado Avalanche.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for NHL playoff semifinal battle at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas is the favorite at -278. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Montréal at +225 as the underdog.
The Canadiens will be without Jonathan Drouin and Jon Merrill. Jeff Petry is listed as doubtful. Jake Evans and Tomas Tater are listed as questionable. Vegas will be without Peyton Krebs. Both Alec Martinez and Tomas Nosek are listed as questionable for the Golden Knights.
Canadiens Knock Out Jets in OT
The Montréal Canadiens completed their four-game sweep of the Winnipeg Jets with a 3-2 victory in overtime on Monday. Tyler Toffoli scored the game-winner 1:39 into OT to send Montréal to the semifinals. Erik Gustaffson and Artturi Lehkonen also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price only faced 16 shots, stopping 14 of them.
Montréal is averaging 2.55 goals per game and is connecting on 8.5% of their shots. The power-play has been solid at 18.8%. The Canadiens have been led in scoring by Toffoli during the playoffs, who has 10 points. He is tied with Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Joel Armia for the team-leading goals with four.
The Canadiens are allowing 2.18 goals per game and are first in penalty killing at 90.3%. Price has been outstanding in the playoffs, going 8-3 with a 1.97 GAA and a .935 save percentage.
Vegas Finishes Off Avalanche in Six
Six different players scored goals as the Vegas Golden Knights knocked out Colorado with a 6-3 victory. Alex Pietrangelo and Max Pacioretty each had a goal and an assist for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 of 33 shots.
Vegas is averaging 3.08 goals per game and are connecting on 9.6% of their shot attempts, fourth in both categories. The power-play has been effective at 14.3%. The Golden Knights have been led in the playoffs by William Karlsson who has 11 points. Jonathan Marchessault has six goals to lead the team.
Vegas is allowing 2.39 goals per game in the penalty killing has been effective as well at 71.4%. Fleury has been great, going 8-4 with a 1.91 GAA and a .923 save percentage.
Trends:
Montréal:
- None
Vegas:
- 12-5 in their last 17 games on a Monday.
- 41-14 in their last 55 games at home.
NHL Picks
Montréal Canadiens vs. Vegas Golden Knights Side Pick:
These teams have not played each other in two seasons so it is hard to get a read on how well they will perform against each other. However, one thing that is clear is that both teams have spectacular goaltending but Vegas has the clear edge when it comes to offense. This is definitely going to be the difference-maker in this contest and in the series as a whole. Price has played very well, but he has not been better than Fleury. However, the Golden Knights have proven that they can score goals against one of the top three goaltenders in the NHL.
Montréal Canadiens vs. Vegas Golden Knights Total Pick:
Montreal has gone under in five of their last seven games as the underdog and has gone under in three of their last five games when playing on three days’ rest or more. Vegas has gone over in four of their last five games at home but has gone under in three of their last five games against a team with a losing record. The Golden Knights are going to score some goals, but Montréal is going to struggle.