The Montreal Canadiens, led by Tomas Tatar and Phillip Danault, are ready to take the ice against Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center in an Atlantic Division tilt. The Sports Network will air the matchup, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 30.
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Canadiens (-115), while the Sabres are showing moneyline odds of -105, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under). Lines Courtesy of DraftKings Sports Book.
Buffalo is 22-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is fairly close to the 33-49 record the team produced during the 2018-19 season campaign. Through 50 regular season contests, 24 of its games have gone over the total, while another 24 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 14-10 SU at home this year.
The Sabres have converted on 19.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 29th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 74.2 percent of all penalties.
With a .914 save percentage and 28.5 saves per game, Linus Ullmark (16 wins, 17 losses, and three OT losses) has been the principal goalkeeper for Buffalo this year. If head coach Ralph Krueger chooses to give him the evening off, however, the team may go with Carter Hutton (6-12-12 record, .892 save percentage, 3.31 goals against average).
On the other bench, Montreal is 22-29 straight up (SU) and has lost 13.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 25 of its outings have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Canadiens are 12-12 SU as the away team this season.
The Canadiens have converted on 20.1 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.7 percent of all penalties.
Carey Price (27.9 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Montreal. Price has 20 wins, 21 losses, and four overtime losses to his credit, while registering a .909 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average this year.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The Sabres are 1-1 in games that go to shootout. The Canadiens are 3-1 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of Montreal’s last five outings.
Montreal’s attempted 34.9 shots per contest overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 32.8 in its last five road games.
Montreal skaters have given out the league’s sixth-most hits per game (27.2), but that number’s down to just 24.2 hits over their last five away games.
