Vegas defeated Montreal in their first head-to-head encounter of the season, 5-2. Will Dominique Ducharme's team be able to get revenge in the upcoming matchup? Our prediction: the Knights will once again get a comfortable win!
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Vegas has been having a very hard time lately. Yes, the Knights are still among the top favorites for the season, but a string of injuries has caused them to have a serious slump. Peter DeBoer's men have lost five of their last six games, and all of them were at home, which is particularly unpleasant. The coaching staff still can't count on Alec Martinez and Max Pacioretty, but even without them the Golden Knights have a very solid lineup. Still, a string of losses dropped Vegas to fourth place in the Western Conference standings, while their gap to the leader increased to five points.
Montreal form
Montreal is a finalist in the last Stanley Cup, now hopelessly sitting 16th in the Eastern Conference standings, with no prospects in the current regular season. The COVID outbreak left the Canadiens without a number of players during the season, so it couldn't help but affect their results. Dominique Ducharme's team have only managed two wins in their last 15 matches, one of which came the day before in a 5-3 victory over Dallas. Of course, that local success doesn't mean the Canadiens suddenly found a way to improve their situation.
Head-to-head encounters
The teams played 13 matches against each other in the NHL, the Knights celebrating four wins and the Canadiens stronger in nine games. The goal difference is also on the side of the Red and Blues, 42-41. The rivals have met once this season, and it was Vegas who won the match, 5-2.
Expert Betting Tips
Now it seems surprising that the hopeless Montreal has a huge advantage in the history of face-to-face rivalry with the most powerful Vegas, and such stats are not a thing of the past, but quite recent. It should not be forgotten that the Canadiens knocked off the Knights in the last Stanley Cup, winning the series 4-2. Now the representatives of Nevada are the unconditional favorites in the upcoming game despite the personnel problems. Still, they are stronger than the opponent who’s been failing this season. As a result, we suggest betting on Handicap Vegas (-1.5) for 1.71.
Shea Theodore is a defenseman who has played for Vegas since the club's debut in the NHL. Even back then, the Canadian was a key player for the Knights, and he was productive not only at his goal but also on the connections to the attack. Since then, he’s always had solid personal statistics, and the current regular season is no exception. He's already recorded 26 points (7 goals + 19 assists) in 36 matches. Given this, it seems to be a great option to bet on his Total Over (0.5) at odds close to 4.15.
Vegas and Montreal showed very cautious hockey in the last playoffs, but it could be explained by the Cup nature of the games. If we turn to their head-to-head stats in the regular championships, their seven encounters saw the opponents score 55 goals against each (7.86 average per game), which is a very solid figure. Now we can expect a high-scoring match, as the Knights always play from a position of strength and tend to go on the attack at home, and the Canadiens will be on fire after a rare win. In such a situation, it is worth looking at the bet on the Total Over (6.5) at the odds of about 2.06.
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