{"id":117997,"date":"2026-05-12T13:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/?p=117997"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:53:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:53:42","slug":"tuesday-nhl-picks-canadiens-aim-to-take-commanding-3-1-lead-versus-sabres-in-game-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/hockey\/nhl\/tuesday-nhl-picks-canadiens-aim-to-take-commanding-3-1-lead-versus-sabres-in-game-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday NHL Picks: Canadiens Aim to Take Commanding 3-1 Lead Versus Sabres in Game 4"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":117468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl"],"acf":{"auto_update_sportal365":true,"property_type":["","run_ads","","","",""],"main_image":117469,"main_image_description":"Tuesday NHL betting picks from Betway","authors":false,"custom_author":"Mark Keast","type":"news","properties":{"ads_enabled":true,"adult_content":false,"important":false,"live":false},"live_url":"","type_of_redirect":"permanent","body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"

The big question as we head into a pivotal Game 4 of the second round series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres tonight is who starts in goal for the Sabres.<\/mark><\/p>\n

The Sabres have given up 11 goals over the last two games of the series, with Alex Lyon between the pipes.<\/mark><\/p>\n

However, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was wavering in his support of Lyon after the 6-2 loss in Game 3 Sunday night.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Lyon was good early the other night, but things fast fell apart. Do the Sabres go back to a goalie rotation, like they did in the Boston Bruins series?<\/mark><\/p>\n

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is capable of stealing a game for the Sabres against this dynamic Habs team, tie the series, and take it back to Buffalo.<\/mark><\/p>\n

BEST BETS<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. EST, Bell Centre, Montreal<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

Montreal leads series 2-1<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

Under 6.5 -140<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

In <\/mark>NHL betting<\/mark><\/a>, the Habs are favoured on the Moneyline to take a commanding lead in the series, at -135, the Sabres at +115. Against the spread Canadiens -1.5 (+165), Sabres +1.5 (-210). The Over\/Under 6.5 (O +110, U -140).<\/mark><\/p>\n

The Canadiens took out the Sabres 6-2 on Sunday, but I don\u2019t see that level of offensive production two games in a row, even if Ruff opts to put Lyon in there again.<\/mark><\/p>\n

That -140 is appealing when going under the total line.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Six of the last 10 games involving the Sabres haven\u2019t covered the 6.5 total goals line. With the Canadiens it\u2019s eight of the last 10 games.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes has been outstanding these playoffs, stopped 26 of 28 shots in Game 3, and is 6-4, 2.13 GAA, and a .918 SV% in the playoffs overall.<\/mark><\/p>\n

The Canadiens have taken over the series, outscoring Buffalo 11-3 in the last two games, tapping into the Bell Centre energy level.<\/mark><\/p>\n

The Canadiens are likely to win tonight, so I am also leaning that Moneyline, but I like the goaltending Dobes has been providing, and whomever Ruff puts in there will help keep it tight, despite constant pressure from the Habs.<\/mark><\/p>\n

BEST BETS<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights, 9:30 p.m. EST, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

Series tied 2-2<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

Golden Knights Moneyline -150<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

In NHL betting, the Golden Knights are favoured on the Moneyline at -150, the Ducks at +125. Against the spread Golden Knights -1.5 (+155), Ducks +1.5 (-200). The Over\/Under 6.5 (O +110, U -130).<\/mark><\/p>\n

Huge statement game opportunity for Las Vegas.<\/mark><\/p>\n

But a big factor going into Game 5 at T-Mobile is the health of power forward Mark Stone. He exited Game 3 with an injury and didn\u2019t play Game 4. The Golden Knights are under .500 when Stone doesn\u2019t play. So, what happens in Game 4? They lost 4-3.<\/mark><\/p>\n

The Ducks play the Golden Knights tough defensively, which explains the -200 on the Ducks\u2019 spread.<\/mark><\/p>\n

I am going to take the Vegas -150 value on home ice.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Three reasons: That crowd energy at T-Mobile will push the Golden Knights to play tighter, under the coaching of John Tortorella, who is a great defensive coach. Vegas at home after dropping a game is a tough out.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Two, Tortorella, as soon as he took over as head coach March 29, found his goalie in Carter Hart. And Hart hasn\u2019t disappointed – .923 save percentage in this series.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Three, Mitch Marner, leading the NHL in playoff scoring (16 points), finding his playoff form after a decade of disappointment in Toronto. Marner has been Conn Smythe worthy, playing right wing with William Karlsson and Brett Howden.<\/mark><\/p>\n

I also like the Under in this one. Games 3 and 4 went Over, but those were anomalies, especially with the goaltending Hart has been providing.<\/mark><\/p>\n

Vegas home games have hit on the Under three times out of five so far during the playoffs.<\/mark><\/p>\n

 <\/mark><\/p>\n"}],"brief_description":"Does Sabres coach Lindy Ruff make a change in goal for tonight? Plus the Golden Knights look to tap into the home crowd energy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117998,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117997\/revisions\/117998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}