The Montreal Canadiens will be looking to extend their longest win streak in almost 11 months when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday as -120 favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Montreal made it three wins in a row on Wednesday, outlasting the visiting St. Louis Blues in a 3-2 victory as a -105 wager, and improving the club’s record to 4-1-1 going into Saturday night’s matchup at the Canadian Tire Centre.
With none of the off-ice drama that has overshadowed the team’s play in recent seasons, the Canadiens have quietly emerged as the one of the early surprises of the NHL season.
In addition to posting three straight wins on home ice at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens have also impressed on the road, taking the Toronto Maple Leafs to overtime before falling 3-2 as +200 underdogs on opening night, and marching to a lopsided 5-1 win in Pittsburgh as +210 underdogs two nights later, in the first of two victories over the Penguins this season.
The Senators are also off to a surprising start, and ride a two-game win streak into Saturday night’s clash as +100 underdogs. After surrendering an average of five goals per game during a middling 1-2-1 run to open the schedule, the Senators have turned things around, posting decisive home victories over Los Angeles and Dallas on the strength of Craig Anderson’s outstanding goaltending.
Ottawa shooters combined to score nine times in the club’s two recent wins, while Anderson shut the door, allowing just two total goals on 75 shots. However, the Senators will need more of the same from their veteran goaltender on Saturday if they are to put the brakes on a 1-5-1 run in their past seven against Montreal, according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
Elsewhere on the NHL Saturday odds, the Maple Leafs look to rebound from a 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday as they host the Blues as -165 favourites, while the Edmonton Oilers look to extend their current win streak to four games and halt a lengthy 12-game losing streak against Nashville as they host the Central Division-leading Predators.
Earlier in the day, the Winnipeg Jets look to win consecutive games for the first time this season as they host the Arizona Coyotes as -215 chalk, while the Vancouver Canucks aim for their fourth win in five outings as they return home from a six-game road trip to battle the Boston Bruins as +145 underdogs.
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