After a haunting two-week stretch of the hockey stick, the Montreal Canadiens are back as the lottery-bound club they have been all season when they host the Boston Bruins tonight at the Bell Center.
The Bruins come out on top four of five wins and bolstered the blueprint with a pre-trade deadline acquisition last weekend, though both lists (and NHL betting opportunities for the evening) could change if any other major move by a club precedes made today. 15:00 ET Trading deadline.
Not all potential deals should really change our free NHL picks and predictions for this Bruins vs Canadiens matchup, though – read on to see why.
Bruins vs. Canadiens Chance
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The line opened at Boston -225 / Montreal +195 and from 9:30 a.m. Monday, the Browns can be found anywhere from -225 to -245, while the Habs are sitting between +205 and +175 – a number that is closer at the first matchup is in November (Montreal closed +214) as the more recent game in January (closed +312), both of which were in Boston. The total opened at 6 and still sits at that number at most operators, with some offering a 5.5 hard juiced to the top.
Use the live odds widget above to track all future line moves until the puck drops and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before you bet to make sure you get the best number.
Bruins vs Canadiens Forecasts
Forecasts made on 3/21/2022 at 12:44 ET.
Click on any forecast to jump to the full analysis.
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Bruins vs Canadiens game information
• Location: Bell Center, Montreal, QC
• Date: Monday, March 21, 2022
• Puck drop: 19:00 ET
• TV: NHL Network, NESN, Sportsnet, RDS
Bruins vs Canadiens betting preview
Key injuries
Bruins: Patrice Bergeron C (Out), Hampus Lindholm D (Out), Jack Studnicka C (Day-to-Day).
Canadian: Brendan Gallagher RW (Day-to-Day), David Savard D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Bruins vs. Canadiens head-to-head record
Bruins: 2-0-0, 10 goals for.
Canadian: 0-2-0, 3 goals for.
Betting to know trend
The Over is 19-6-1 in the last 26 games of the Canadiens. Find more NHL betting trends for Bruins vs Canadiens.
Bruins vs. Canadiens Picks and Forecasts
Our page and total predictions are based on our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite choice in all markets.
Puck Linn Analysis
The Montreal Canadiens spent most of the season as a doormat for opposing teams, due to terrible coaching and key injuries on an already talented thin list.
After posting an heinous 8-30-7 record to start the season, the Habs started life under interim head coach Martin St. Louis. where Montreal won seven of eight games. However, with the impending trade deadline looming over the team – minutes away defenders Ben Chiarot and Brett Kulak, along with forwards Tyler Toffoli and Artturi Lehkonen, are already gone, while Jeff Petry and Jake Allen are also in the rumors Millen were – the Habs have gone back to swimming, losing four of their last six with the wins coming against fellow sales teams in Philadelphia and Ottawa.
While Montreal had some spunk under St. is exactly what the Bruins are.
Boston, which is currently ninth in the NHL in points (but seventh in the East because the conference is absolutely stacked), has won four of its last five games, most recently a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets – without Star Center Patrice Bergeron.
Even though they were without the veteran pivot, the Bruins dominated the game, posting 5.31 expected goals (per moneypuck) and 61 shot attempts – the highest total for the team since early January. Boston has posted a positive CF% in 11 of its last 12 games, with the exception of last Wednesday’s game in Minnesota when Bergeron’s place was filled by deep center Eric Haula and the Bs posted an abysmal 39.0 CF%.
Coach Bruce Cassidy chose to go with the top prospect Jack Studnicka on that spot against the Jets and the team played a lot better, so we can expect him to be placed on that top line again tonight, despite everyday statements considered after he blocked a shot on Saturday.
The only other question, at least for tonight’s roster, is whether striker Jake DeBrusk will still be a member of the team. The 25-year-old winger had a trade-off for months after he was unhappy with a low role and logged just 10 points through his first 25 games. He then posted 16 points in 23 games in January and February, rising to a top-six spot, but had just two points in nine March contests.
He drove alongside Studnicka and Brad Marchand in the last game of Boston, so a trade weakens the Bruins’ offensive depth – but not as much as the Habs when it comes to trading Lehkonen (who leads all Montreal forwards and expected goals in CF %) and possibly Petry (who leads the team in minutes per game).
The Bruins are a strong team that plays good hockey (despite missing a star player), while the Habs are building for the future and losing more key players between now and Puck. Boston won the first two games this year with scores of 5-1 and 5-2, and while the two were at home, we will give up on another multi-goal victory for the better team tonight.
Predict: Bruins -1.5 (+117)
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Over / Under Analysis
Now, while the Habs have pulled back a bit from their winning ways, they still play better hockey in general – especially on offense, seeing their 5-on-5 ranks from 27th in Corsi For Percentage (46.80%) and expected Targets for per 60 (2.2) to 15. (49.97% and 2.57 xGF / 60) in two categories (per Natural Stat Trick) since st.
The power play has also improved, from 31st (13.6%) under former coach Dominique Ducharme to paying in four straight games and seven of his last nine competitions (8-for-40), mainly because St. gives enough opportunities for his best offensive talents in Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki – with both players taking full advantage of the opportunity.
| Player | Under duchess | Under St |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Suzuki | 45 GP, 9 G, 27 P, 19:56 TOI / G (2:56 PP TOI / G) | 17 GP, 8 G, 19 P, 21:37 TOI / G (3:48 PP TOI / G) |
| Cole Caufield | 30 GP, 1 G, 8 P, 14:42 TOI / G (2:31 PP TOI / G) | 17 GP, 12 G, 22 P, 18:28 TOI / G (3:40 PP TOI / G) |
As you can see, the st.
While Boston Linus Ullmark was solid last month (.931 SV%, 1.66 goals saved above expectations), the shortcomings of Bergeron, who is one of the premier defensive forwards in hockey, should open up some space for Suzuki, Caufield , and the rest of the Habs to scratch at least a few goals.
At the back, Jake Allen is expected to make his third start for Montreal since returning from a lower body injury. He had a good start (stopping 29 of 30 shots against Ottawa) and a bad start (four goals against .886 SV% versus Dallas) but when you consider that the Bruins offensive is closer to the stars than senators – and d ‘Habs have lost more key defensive players today – we’ll be left with the probability that Boston will hang on to a crooked number tonight.
The Bs have seen the total 4-1 in their last Fives games as road favorites, while the total in eight of the last 10 games of Montreal has as home puppies. With the over 6 available at -105 at some outlets, we’ll grab that now – the price could possibly go up if (when?) The Habs issue a few more key leads.
Predict: Over 6 (-105)
Best bet
The Bruins are one of the best teams in the hockey stick when it comes to the puck on the net, 35.8 shots on goal per game since the beginning of February (third in the league), with the band Brad Marchand being one of the most outstanding Bruins of them all.
The superstar band averages 4.5 sucks per game during that span (mostly among active Boston skaters), while recently posting a total of 4, 5, 6, and 6 over his last four games.
He will play against a Montreal team that has conceded at least 30 shots in eight of its last nine games, with Marchand recording 11 goals in his two previous games against the Habs.
Against a total of just 3.5 sucks, we’ll happily take the Mercurial Band on over the whole thing tonight – especially at plus money.
Pick: Brad Marchand Over 3.5 Sog (+105)
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