Colorado Avalanche vs Montreal Canadiens Pick & Prediction – 1/29/2026

Colorado heads into Quebec to face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. The Avalanche are in outstanding shape in the standings this season, but will have to overcome a loss in their last game and tired legs on short rest. Montreal has been feisty enough to make this game worth dissecting. Here, I do exactly that and you can find my Avalanche vs Canadiens prediction right here before this inter-conference game begins.

Our Avalanche vs Canadiens Pick

Confidence: 4/5

Game Snapshot

Key Storylines

• Recent form: The Avalanche sit at 35-7-9 overall with a 15-5-5 road record. The Avs are at the top of the Central Division, but they took a loss on Wednesday night to the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-2. Montreal checks in at 29-17-7 and 15-11-1 at home. The Habs won their last game, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime on home ice.
• Goaltending: Colorado is likely to go with Mackenzie Blackwood in this game after Scott Wedgewood occupied the crease for them on Wednesday. Blackwood has been excellent in a backup role, with a GAA of 2.41. Montreal’s Jakub Dobes has handled recent action for the Habs and is expected to start here. Dobes has a 2.96 GAA and will have to stand tall to keep his team in this game.
• Key skaters: Nathan MacKinnon headlines things for the Avs with 38 goals and 50 assists, adding up to 88 points. Montreal’s attack relies heavily on Cole Caufield’s shot volume, Nick Suzuki’s two-way play, and Lane Hutson’s blue-line playmaking.
• Special teams picture: Colorado’s penalty kill sits at 84.1% and has been a big piece of their success all season. Montreal’s power play converts at 23.2% and can change the temperature of a game quickly if given chances.

Betting Trends & H2H

• Head-to-head: Colorado thumped Montreal 7-2 in late November. This is the second and final meeting between these teams in the regular season.
• Colorado has covered the puckline in 54% of their games this season.
• Montreal has a 56.6% success rate in the puckline market this year.

Avalanche vs Canadiens Model Projection

Final Thoughts

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.

Affiliate Disclosure

ATS.io uses affiliate links. If you sign up through a link on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Rankings are based on hands-on testing and published criteria, and affiliate relationships do not determine placement.