Two NHL teams seemingly moving in opposite directions tangle on Monday night as the Edmonton Oilers face off against the Montreal Canadiens. NHL betting lines have Montreal installed as a slim -120 home favorite with the Over/Under set at 6.
Here are our best free Oilers vs. Canadiens picks and predictions for NHL action on Monday, March 22, with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. ET.
Edmonton Oilers at Montreal Canadiens betting preview
Injuries
Oilers: Kailer Yamamoto RW (Questionable), Alex Stalock G (Out), Oscar Klefbom D (Out), Slater Koekkoek D (Out).
Canadiens: Tyler Toffoli RW (Questionable), Ben Chiarot D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Canadiens are 0-7 in their last seven games following a win. Find more NHL betting trends for Oilers vs. Canadiens.
NHL sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonMontreal opened a -126 favorite at FanDuel, peaked at -130 a couple of times and is down to -118 as of 3 p.m. ET today. Edmonton is taking 72 percent of moneyline bets and 80 percent of moneyline cash. The total hasn't budged off 6.5 (Under -122), with 72 percent of bets/69 percent of money on the Under.
Check out the full line movement for this gameMoneyline pick
This is the fourth time these teams will have faced off this year. After the Oilers lost the first two games at home in January, by a combined score of 8-2, they bounced back with a 3-0 win in Montreal last month.
That certainly looked like a different Montreal team in January as the Habs got their season off to a great start before cooling off big time. They are fresh off a 5-4 shootout win over the Canucks two days ago but are just 5-11 in their last 16 games.
The Canadiens are still creating scoring opportunities and potting goals at a solid rate but it's surprisingly been the inconsistent play of star goalie Carey Price that has cost them. Price allowed four goals on just 18 shots in that previous contest against Vancouver and has now given up at least four goals in five of his last 11 starts.
The Oilers are coming off a 4-2 win against the Jets on Saturday and have won seven of their last nine contests, averaging 4.0 goals per game over that span. Led by the league's top two points leaders in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton ranks second in the league in scoring with 3.41 goals per game.
The Oilers have also gotten solid play between the pipes from veteran netminder Mike Smith, who is 11-3 with a 2.34 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage this season.
With the Oilers clearly looking like the better team over the last month and a half, and the Canadiens winning just three of their last nine games at home, back the visitors at even money.
PREDICTION: Edmonton ML (+100)
Over/Under pick
We mentioned the Oilers' ability to put the puck in the net, and they've been generating scoring chances at a high rate as well, ranking second in the league in high danger chances for per 60 minutes.
With a pair of superstars like Draisaitl and McDavid you also know they are killer on the powerplay. While they don't have a ridiculously high power-play percentage like they did last season, they are still fifth in the league by converting on 27 percent of opportunities with the man advantage.
That's bad news for the Canadiens, who spend the fourth-most time on the ice shorthanded and whose penalty kill ranks 19th. That said, the Habs have been getting goals of their own, ranking 10th in the league with 3.19 goals per game and third in shots per game with 33.2.
Both teams also have a tendency to play higher-scoring games against quality opposition, with the Oilers going 6-1-1 to the Over in their last eight games as an underdog and the Canadiens 20-8-1 O/U in their previous 29 contests against teams with a winning percentage above .600. Take the Over.
PREDICTION: Over 6 (-115)
Oilers vs Canadiens betting card
- Edmonton ML (+100)
- Over 6 (-115)
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