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Detroit vs. Montreal: NHL Match Prediction
The two teams from the bottom of the Eastern Conference table will meet in Michigan on December 21. Detroit has won two games in a row and slightly improved its position in the conference, but it is unlikely to get into the top eight yet. Montreal crushed Buffalo before the games against the Red Wings, but before that suffered two big losses. Who will get the important points? Find out from our forecast
Command Analysis
Detroit Red Wings
USACurrent form
Detroit remains in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, but the density of the table is so great that only one point separates the hosts from the eighth place in the conference. The club from Michigan had a terrible start to the winter and lost five games in a row, but broke their streak in a game against Buffalo in the suburbs of New York (6:5, B), but before returning home they lost in Pennsylvania to Philadelphia (1:4). In the home series, the Red Wings unexpectedly beat Toronto (4:2), and after a short rest confidently won against the Flyers (6:4), taking revenge for the recent failure. The Wings played well in each of the periods and scored against the Flyers in all three 20-minute periods.
The hosts have been doing well in attack lately, although they remain the lowest scoring team in the conference. In the four previous games, Detroit scored 16 times, which is a very good result. Lucas Raymond has found excellent form and often distinguished himself in the past games. The Swedish forward has scored 33 times (13+20) and leads the club scorers.
Alex Lyon is finally back from injury, but he wasn't able to show a strong performance against Philadelphia. The American saved only 78.90% of shots and allowed four goals, so Ville Husso could very well be back on the ice in the very near future.
Disqualifications and injuries
All Detroit leaders will play against the Habs. Simon Edvinsson participation is still in question.
Interesting trends for betting
- Detroit is allowing an average of 3.16 goals per game.
Krylia have failed to improve their defense in recent matches and have not improved their defensive performance.
- The Red Wings win 50.5% of their faceoffs.
Derek Lalonde players have started to perform a little better at the point and win the puck for their teammates more often.
Montreal Canadiens
CanadaCurrent form
The Canadians are in the penultimate line in the conference, having scored only 27 points in 31 games. Montreal can hardly claim to get into the playoffs with such results, but the Habs had some good stretches during the current regular season. Now the team from the province of Quebec is far from being in the worst shape and managed to win four games out of seven. Martin St. Louis charges played well on their home ice and scored 60% of the points in five games, but before that, in one of their last games on the ice of the Bell Centre, they suffered a crushing defeat to Pittsburgh (2:9). Immediately after that, the Canadiens suffered a major defeat in Winnipeg (2:4), but returning home they were stronger than Buffalo (6:1). Nick Suzuki squad went on the attack from the first minutes of the game and did not allow the then guests to claim points.
The visitors play well in attack and score at least two goals for six games in a row. However, Montreal remains one of the weakest teams in the East in terms of converting chances. On average, the Canadians only score 2.84 times per game. The captain of the Habs is the best scorer of his club at the moment. Nick Suzuki scored 32 points (11+21) in the goal+pass system and occupies the 32nd place in the list of the most productive players of the league.
Montreal is a big goalscorer and currently has a poor goal difference of 88-114. Corey Price is still in the visiting team infirmary, while Samuel Montembeault is not always able to cope with his job. The goalie has stopped only 90.17% of shots and has three shutouts in 25 starts.
Disqualifications and injuries
Corey Price won't help his teammates in Michigan.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Habs have averaged nearly 10.61 penalty minutes in their last games.
The visitors are often sent off and therefore often concede when they are short-handed.
- Montreal blocks 15 shots per game
The Canadiens' defense doesn't often sacrifice itself for the team goalies and rarely blocks many shots.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
Montreal last five games have seen more than one goal scored.
1.72Bet 3rd period: Detroit will score
Krylia Sovetov have scored in the third period for three games in a row
1.37Tip and bets
Detroit is in good shape and is playing well in the current series of games in Michigan. The hosts have finally unsheathed their guns and have scored ten goals in the previous two games. Montreal, although they beat Buffalo at home, took advantage of their opponent weakness rather than being too good themselves. The Canadians concede a lot of goals and have suffered many crushing defeats due to weak actions on their half of the ice. We think that the winning streak of Derek Lalonde team should continue. Prediction - Detroit wins the match for 1.62
Bet on individual total Detroit has been good at converting chances this stretch of the season. Dylan Larkin team has scored at least four times in three of its last four games, and has been able to penetrate even Toronto solid defense. Montreal, meanwhile, is allowing 3.68 goals per game and is unlikely to be able to contain the home team in-form attackers. We bet on Detroit individual total of more than three goals with odds of 1.77
Total Bet
In Michigan, we are expecting a meeting of two very weak teams in terms of defense. Both teams concede a lot, while the hosts are doing well in attack at this stage of the season and should force Montreal to open up. The Canadiens have someone to score, while Alex Lyon will probably allow the opponent to score again. We believe in at least six goals from these clubs.
We take the total over 5.5 goals for 1.70
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