The Canadiens are now 2-5 on home ice during the playoffs, going into Game 4 tonight against the Hurricanes
Bettors, and NHL fans generally, woke up this morning to find last night’s shocking result in the Western Conference Final, with the Vegas Golden Knights finishing off Colorado Avalanche in four straight games.
Vegas won last night 2-1.
It was a pretty good night for us, as we had the Golden Knights to win, and that first period to go under 1.5 goals.
Still, it’s going to take a few hours to digest, just how dramatically the Golden Knights have risen up as betting favourites at Betway (+130), after the Carolina Hurricanes (-111), now to win the Stanley Cup, after a relatively mediocre regular season, by their standards.
I am putting money down today on the Golden Knights to win the Cup.
Tonight, focus shifts back to the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes, at the Bell Centre.
The emerging storyline there has been the Canadiens’ inability to capitalize on home ice. In the playoffs, now, the Habs are 2-5 at the Bell Centre, after dropping Game 3 Monday night, 3-2 in overtime.
No injuries to report for either team.
BEST BETS
Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens, 8 p.m. EST, Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Carolina leads best-of-seven series 2-1
In NHL betting on Betway, the Hurricanes are Moneyline favourites, at -150, with the Canadiens +125. Puckline is Hurricanes -1.5 +165, Habs +1.5, at -210. Over/Under is 5.5 (O -115, U -105).
Canadiens To Win +125
Maybe it’s the two coffees and caffein rush, but I am going out on a limb this morning. My head says no but my heart says yes.
The Canadiens lost three home games in a row just once during the season. One player who is going to be extra motivated is Habs’ defenceman Lane Hutson, who had an unfortunate turnover on Andrei Svechnikov’s overtime winner at the 14:06 mark Monday night.
The Hurricanes have absolutely stifled the Habs’ attack the past two games – holding the Canadiens to 13 shots on Fredrik Andersen Monday night, and 12 shots in Game 2 Saturday night. That has to change somehow, because there’s been leaks in Andersen’s game of late.
Under 5.5 Total Goals (-105)
The series has gone under that total the past two games, both 3-2 OT wins for Carolina, a noticeable tightening up after that 6-2 opener.
The Hurricanes had some rust on them after taking out the Philadelphia Flyers in the previous series, with a 12-day layoff.
The last two games, they are back to Hurricanes hockey – deeply structured, a forecheck that has limited Montreal’s transition game, heavy possession, conservative, low-event hockey.
The Canadiens are young, fast, creative and exciting, but Carolina has thrown a blanket over all that in the last two games.
I like the Habs to tie the series tonight, but it’ll be another tight contest.
Best Prop Lean: Cole Caufield Anytime Goal (+155)
Caulfield has been generating high-danger chances like crazy lately, eight of them in his last five games, while scoring only one goal.
That’s a level of volume that usually translate to goals, especially in a must-win game.
Being on the top line with Nick Suzuki also means first-unit power play time. His shooting percentage has been low in the playoffs (13.2%) compared to a regular season (19.8%) that saw him score 50+ goals.
Solid value at +155.
