The Montreal Canadiens own a 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games and one of their most dynamic players, Patrik Laine, is healthy and back in the mix.
My Predators vs. Canadiens predictions see Laine building on an impactful club debut with another strong showing against a team that’s struggled all season long.
Let’s break things down further with my NHL picks for Thursday, December 5 ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop at the Bell Centre on TSN2.
Canadiens vs Predators prediction
My Canadiens pick
Patrik Laine Over 0.5 points (-120 at BET99)
My Canadiens analysis
You couldn’t have written a better script for Patrik Laine’s Montreal Canadiens debut. He made an immediate impact offensively, scoring by beating one of the league’s best goaltenders (Ilya Sorokin) with a lethal, perfectly placed shot on the power play.
He handled a full workload, playing a regular shift on the second line and skating on the No. 1 power-play unit. He logged well over 17 minutes of ice time and was named the first star.
Clearly, Laine showed he’s ready to contribute and gave head coach Martin St. Louis no reason to keep him on any sort of leash moving forward.
Laine finds himself in a nice matchup to build on a strong first showing with the Canadiens. The Nashville Predators rank dead last in wins, having left the ice with two points only seven times in 26 tries.
A last-place offense is obviously a big reason for their struggles but the Predators aren’t exactly playing great defense, either.
They rank Bottom-5 in shot suppression at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill over the last 10 games. They’re also near the basement in goals against despite star netminder Juuse Saros owning a .911 save percentage, which is miles above the league average of .894. More often than not they’ve had solid goaltending and still can’t keep the puck out.
That is unlikely to change Thursday night. Nashville is playing in the latter half of a road back-to-back and will be turning to Justus Annunen between the pipes.
Annunen sports an .872 save percentage through 11 appearances this season and he conceded at least three goals in five of his last six starts.
He wasn’t able to put together remotely decent performances with a good Colorado Avalanche team and it’ll only be harder on him behind this porous Predators defense.
Laine will be a focal point of Montreal’s offense every time he touches the ice. In a matchup against a bad defense and struggling goaltender, he’s likely to take advantage and hit the scoresheet once again
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Canadiens vs Predators same-game parlay (SGP)
Patrik Laine Over 0.5 points
Patrik Laine Over 2.5 shots on goal
Canadiens +1.5
Laine’s bread and butter is his shot. He has one of the best releases in the NHL and looks to use it every chance he gets. That he scored in his first game back should only give him more confidence and encourage him to shoot even more.
While Laine didn’t play much hockey last season, history tells us he’s capable of generating volume when the minutes are there.
He has recorded at least three shots in 10 of the last 13 games in which he logged 17+ minutes.
Zooming out a little further, and adjusting for home ice when his coach can get a dangerous weapon like Laine out in softer matchups, he has cleared in 20 of the last 30 home games when seeing such a workload.
Given Laine played more than 17 minutes in his first game in over a year, that seems like a reasonable baseline to expect moving forward.
The Predators rank 29th in shot suppression over the last 10 games and their season is already lost. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to tighten the screws any time soon.
Nashville ranks dead last in goals per game and there is no reason to expect much from Annunen. If Laine can put on a strong offensive performance, that alone should help the Canadiens keep this game close.
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Canadiens vs Predators odds
Canadiens vs Predators live odds
Canadiens vs Predators opening odds
- Puck line: Montreal +1.5 (-213) | Nashville -1.5 (+181)
- Moneyline: Montreal +125 | Nashville -142
- Over/Under: Over 6 (+101) | Under 6 (-116)
Canadiens vs Predators trend
Patrik Laine has nine points spanning his last nine games with at least 17 minutes of ice. Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs. Predators.
How to watch Canadiens vs Predators
| Location: | Bell Centre, Montreal, QC |
| Date: | Thursday, 12-5-2024 |
| Puck drop: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | RDS, TSN2 |
Canadiens vs Predators latest injuries
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