The Montreal Canadiens will be seeking their first victory in St. Louis in almost four years when they visit the Blues on Thursday night as small -105 underdogs on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Montreal opened a brief two-game road trip with a narrow 3-2 win in Detroit on Tuesday, and has now picked up the victory in five of six road dates ahead of Thursday night’s game at Enterprise Center.
Goal scoring, though, has emerged as an issue for the Canadiens despite their recent success. Montreal has tallied just nine total goals over its past five contests, but has also surrendered more than two goals on just one occasion during that stretch, spawning a 5-0 run for the UNDER in totals betting, according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
A disappointing season in St. Louis continued on Tuesday with a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars that left the Blues with just one win in five home games as they prepare to take on the Canadiens as narrow -115 favourites.
The Blues’ 30th-ranked offence has been limited to just a single goal in four of the team’s past nine outings. But despite their inability to climb out of last place in the Central Division, the Blues have fallen to defeat in consecutive outings just once over their past 15 games.
Elsewhere on the Thursday NHL odds, the Toronto Maple Leafs look to rebound from a 4-0 loss to Nashville as they travel to New Jersey as heavy -200 betting favourites.
The Winnipeg Jets look to establish their first three-game win streak in almost four weeks as they visit Minnesota in a pick’em contest. The Edmonton Oilers look for just their third win in 11 games as they host the Florida Panthers as -135 favourites, while the Vancouver Canucks return home from a six-game road trip to battle the Arizona Coyotes as -130 favourites.
The Maple Leafs have struggled without injured goaltender Frederik Andersen, who won’t be returning for Thursday night’s date with the Devils. Toronto has been shut out twice while losing three of four, capped by its loss to the Predators while sporting -130 odds.
The Jets have outscored opponents by a 12-5 margin during their current win streak, and have scored four or more goals on six occasions while winning eight of 10 on the run, but have scored just three times in two previous losses to the Wild this season.
And later on Thursday night, the Ottawa Senators continue a three-game California swing in Los Angeles, battling the Kings as +170 underdogs.
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