Colorado Avalanche vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/02/2021

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, December 2, 2021

Venue:  Centre Bell, Montréal, QC

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Avalanche -165, Canadiens +145; Over/Under:  NL goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Avalanche -160, Canadiens +140; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Avalanche -175, Canadiens +145; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

 

Colorado Avalanche:  11-6-1 (6th place, Central Division)

Montreal Canadiens:  6-16-2 (7th place, Atlantic Division)

 

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Colorado Avalanche:  7-2-1 last 10

Montreal Canadiens:  3-6-1 last 10

 

 

 

The Avalanche are coming into this game with 23 points, an 11-6-1 record overall, and they are 4-4-0 in their road games this NHL season where they will be in this game. They have won 7 of their last 8 games and are coming into this one off of another win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Dallas Stars while their 7 wins in that span came against the Vancouver Canucks, the San Jose Sharks, the Canucks again, the Seattle Kraken, the Ottawa Senators, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Nashville Predators in their last game winning that one 6-2. Mikko Rantanen led the team in goals in that game scoring a hat trick with 3 goals while Bowen Byram, Tyson Jost, and Valeri Nichushkin all scored 1 goal in that one as well. Cale Makar led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog, and Devon Toews all had 2 assists each in that one. Rantanen, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Erik Johnson all had 1 assist each in that game. Rantanen also led the team in shots on goal in that game with 6 shots on net. Jonas Johansson was the starting goaltender in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 28 shots with 26 saves and a .928 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 73 goals in their 18 games this season averaging 4.1 goals scored per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 56 goals against them allowing 3.1 goals per game. 

 

 

The Canadiens are coming into this game with 14 points, a 6-16-2 record overall, and they are 4-7-1 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and are coming into this one off of another loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Pittsburgh Penguins while their 3 losses in that span came against the Washington Capitals, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Vancouver Canucks in their last game losing that one 2-1. Ryan Poehling scored the only goal for them in that game while Jonathan Drouin had the only assist. Josh Anderson led the team in shots on goal in that game with 6 shots on net. Jake Allen was their starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 42 shots with 40 saves and a .952 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 55 goals in their 24 games this season averaging 2.3 goals scored per game and their defense is allowing their opponents to score 85 goals against them allowing 3.5 goals per game. 

 

 

The Avalanche are coming into this game as a -165 favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Avalanche have been playing very well in their recent game with just 1 loss in their last 8 games they have finally hit their stride after a slow start and are very hot right now trying to get back to being one of the best teams in the Western Conference. The Candiens have been the complete opposite in their games, they have struggled since the start of the season and have been struggling in their recent games as well. The team is missing their goalkeeper Carey Price but their defense has been awful in their games and is allowing way too many shots on goal against them. The Avs have a potent scoring offense and they are going to pepper the net with shots in this game. The Habs will not be able to handle them and will be overwhelmed by their great offense. This is not the same team that was in the playoffs last season and made it to the Stanley Cup Final. The best bet to place in this game is on the Avalanche to win this game straight up on the moneyline or on the puckline as they have been playing too well in their recent games.

 

Avalanche Canadiens Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, December 2, 2021 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Avalanche 5 Canadiens 1.

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Colorado Avalanche: 107-62 (+11.4 units) in all games. 25-15 (+6.2 units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more. 34-24 (+3.7 units) first half of the season.

Montreal Canadiens: 79-104 (-36.6 units) in all games. 20-32 (-27.8 units) in a home game where the total is 6 or more. 24-40 (-21.8 units) first half of the season.

 

 

Colorado Avalanche:  N. MacKinnon (C) Prob Wed - Lower Body injury. R. Murray (D) Ques Wed - Lower Body injury. J. Compher (LW) Late Dec - Upper Body injury.

Montreal Canadiens:  B. Kulak (D) Ques Thurs - Lower Body injury. C. Wideman (D) Ques Thurs - Upper Body injury. J. Edmundson (D) Early Dec - Lower Body injury.

 

 

 

“You want the puck on your best player’s stick as much as possible, and that’s what Mikko is. He’s an elite player.” - Jared Bednar on his team’s win against the Predators on Saturday night.

 

 

“It was obviously two emotional days. We all worked with Marc on the day-to-day, 3 1/2 years for myself. He’s someone I have a lot of respect for and a lot of our veterans lose someone that had the success and happiness of everyone at heart.” - Dominique Ducharme on the firing of their GM Marc Bergevin.

 

 

 

LW Landeskog, Gabriel

C Nathan MacKinnon

RW Rantanen, Mikko

LD Toews, Devon

RD Makar, Cale

G Kuemper, Darcy

 

LW Toffoli, Tyler

C Dvorak, Christian

RW Anderson, Josh

LD Chiarot, Ben

RD Petry, Jeff

G Allen, Jake

 

 

Points: N. Kadri (27)

Goals: M. Rantanen (10)

Assists: N. Kadri (20)

GAA: D. Kuemper (2.84)

 

Points: T. Toffoli (15)

Goals: J. Anderson (7)

Assists: N. Suzuki (11)

GAA: J. Allen (2.96)

 

Coaches:

Colorado Avalanche: Jared Bednar (6th season)

Montreal Canadiens: Dominique Ducharme (2nd season)