Red-hot Canadiens heavy favourites on Thursday NHL odds

Montreal Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry (26) celebrates with teammate Paul Byron (41) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during first period NHL hockey action Monday, February 1, 2021 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz / CP)

Worst will meet first on Thursday night as the North Division-leading Montreal Canadiens host the free-falling Ottawa Senators as heavy -280 betting favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Montreal's 5-3 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday lifted the club to the top of the division standings going into a home-and-home series with Ottawa that begins with Thursday night's matchup at the Bell Centre.

With Tuesday's win as -165 chalk at sports betting sites, the Canadiens now sport a 7-2-1 record on the season, including victories in three of the first four dates on their current five-game home stand. A red-hot attack has powered Montreal's resurgence. The Canadiens have scored five or more goals in six of their past nine contests, and have seen all seven of their wins come by multi-goal margins.

Conversely, it has been a disastrous start to the campaign for Ottawa, which wraps up a lengthy seven-game road trip in Montreal on Thursday as a +220 underdog. The Senators have come up empty since opening their schedule with a 5-3 upset victory over Toronto. Ottawa has failed to tally a win in nine outings since, and recorded two or fewer goals on six occasions during the team's 0-8-1 slide, capped by a 4-2 loss in Edmonton on Tuesday as a +195 wager.

The Senators have fared no better in recent dates with Montreal. Ottawa has scored just 11 total goals during a 1-4-2 run against the Canadiens, and two or fewer goals in 11 of the past 14 meetings between these divisional rivals.

Elsewhere on the Thursday NHL odds, the slumping Canucks travel to Toronto to battle the Maple Leafs as +150 odds underdogs, while the Winnipeg Jets close out a three-game set with the visiting Calgary Flames as slim +105 underdogs.

It has been a disappointing start to the campaign for the Canucks after they came within one win of a berth in the Western Conference Final last season. Vancouver sports a middling 6-7-0 record after being swept in this week's two-game series in Montreal, and has seen three of its wins to date come against the lowly Senators.

The Maple Leafs return to action as -180 chalk after closing out a four-game Western Canada swing with a 4-3 loss in Edmonton on Saturday night. However, Toronto has yet to drop consecutive decisions this season, and has posted wins in seven straight meetings with the Canucks at Scotiabank Arena.

The Jets and Flames split the first two meetings of their three-game set, with Winnipeg tallying a 3-2 win in Tuesday's matchup to remain unbeaten in regulation in five home dates with Calgary.

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