The Montreal Canadiens will be looking to kickstart their offence on Tuesday when they hit the ice at the Bell Centre for their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks in a game that opened as a pick’em on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com..
Montreal scored just four times during a season-opening three-game road trip, capped by a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers as a +110 underdog on Saturday that sent the club home with a 1-2-0 record ahead of Tuesday night’s Blackhawks versus Canadiens betting matchup.
The Canadiens continue to be plagued by an inability to finish that dates back to last season, when they scored two or fewer goals in 14 of their final 25 contests including a six-game first-round playoff matchup with the Rangers in which they scored just 11 total goals. Consequently, Montreal has seen its Stanley Cup odds slip to +2500 since opening at +1500.
The Blackhawks travel to Montreal following their first defeat of the year, a 4-3 overtime loss in Toronto on Monday as +142 underdogs. But Chicago has dominated the Canadiens, winning seven straight meetings including three victories in Montreal.
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Later on Tuesday, the Vancouver Canucks play their second of five straight games against Canadian-based opponents when they welcome the Ottawa Senators to town as narrow -125 betting favourites.
Vancouver opened their schedule with a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers as a +137 underdog. However, little is expected this season from the rebuilding Canucks, who finished 29th in the league last year with 69 points and sit back at +10000 on the Stanley Cup odds.
Ottawa has stumbled out of the gate this season, opening with consecutive losses to Washington and Detroit. Consequently, the Senators are listed as -105 underdogs against Vancouver despite tallying shutout victories in their past two meetings with the Canucks.
As well, history will be made on Tuesday when the puck drops at T-Mobile Arena to mark the NHL’s debut in Las Vegas as the Golden Knights battle the Arizona Coyotes as -120 favourites.
The Golden Knights opened their inaugural campaign with a pair of road wins, including Saturday’s 2-1 overtime victory at Arizona as +155 underdogs to leave the Coyotes winless on the season.
On the futures, the Oilers have climbed to the top of the Stanley Cup odds at +700, moving past the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have fallen off to +1000. The undefeated Maple Leafs have charged to +900, ahead of the Blackhawks at +1200. The Golden Knights’ strong start has lifted them to a respectable +6600 on the Stanley Cup odds.
