The struggling Montreal Canadiens are riding a three-game losing streak and a wave of controversy, but head coach Michel Therrien is nevertheless still favoured to keep his job through the end of the regular season at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Therrien sits at -200 odds to still be the head coach of the Habs at the end of their 82-game slate, and at +150 odds to get fired by the team at any point before the regular season is over. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin is also listed on that prop, with +400 odds to be fired before the end of the regular season but -700 odds to hold on to his position heading into the summer.
The Canadiens fell to 27-27-4 on the season and further diminished their playoff chances on Wednesday night with a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche in Colorado, with Jarome Iginla scoring the winning goal for the Avs after P.K. Subban slipped near the blue line late in the third period. Therrien called out Subban after the game, placing blame for the loss on the defenceman.
Montreal is just 3-7-0 over its past 10 games and will get back in action on Friday night with a home game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Habs opened as slight -110 home favourites for the game versus the Flyers, who are also trying to chase down an Eastern Conference wild card spot.
The Canadiens last faced the Flyers on Feb. 2, falling 4-2 in Philadelphia at +106 on the betting lines at the sportsbooks. Montreal is just 4-6 over its last 10 games against Philadelphia according to the OddsShark NHL Database, but they did pick up a 2-1 victory over the Flyers the last time the two teams met at the Bell Centre back in February of 2015.
There’s also an all-Canadian matchup on Friday night as the Calgary Flames host the Vancouver Canucks, while the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Flyers on Saturday night. The Ottawa Senators get a visit from the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, with the Winnipeg Jets in Florida to take on the Panthers, and the Edmonton Oilers playing host to the Avalanche.
All of those Canadian clubs enter the weekend outside of the playoff picture and well back of the pack on the odds to win the Stanley Cup at the sportsbooks. Montreal is at +4000, with Vancouver at +6600, Ottawa at +7500, and Calgary at +10000. Edmonton and Winnipeg both sit at +15000, while Toronto has plummeted to +100000 heading into the stretch drive.