Montreal Canadiens Travel to Ottawa to Face the Senators Saturday

Montreal Canadiens will travel to the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday evening to take on the Ottawa Senators in an Atlantic Division matchup. Both teams have been off for the second half of the week as neither team has played since Wednesday, and this will be the first of four games against one another this season. 

Montreal is last in the division (10-33-7, 27 points), while Ottawa is sixth in the division (18-26-5, 41 points) at this point in the season. 

Let’s dive into guys like center Nick Suzuki and left-winger Brady Tkachuk to determine where we should be leaning in this game and figure out exactly where we should be betting for this game. 

See What You Have

Canadiens need to work on being a better offensive team this season as they are currently scoring 2.20 goals on 29.5 shots per game so far. 

Center Nick Suzuki is leading the team with 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) but has scored two points in the six games since the All-Star break. Right-winger Josh Anderson is leading the team with just ten goals, so they are definitely struggling to find the back of the net in this game. 

Backup goalie Sam Montembeault should be in the net as Jake Allen is on Injured Reserve. However, Montembeault is struggling this year as he is just 3-10-4 while giving up 3.81 goals and an .895 save percentage. 

The defense as a whole is allowing 3.90 goals on 34.3 shots per game and needs to step up if they want to win. Montreal has allowed 44 power play goals, so they need to be better when they commit a penalty. 

Work On Scoring the Puck More

Senators need to be more aggressive on the offensive side of the ice as they are averaging 2.63 goals on 29.9 shots per game. Left-winger Brady Tkachuk has been leading the charge offensively for Ottawa as he has recorded 36 points (16 points, 20 assists), with 10 of those goals being scored at home this season. 

Center Josh Norris was recently placed on Injured Reserve on Tuesday with a shoulder injury, so a lot of the scoring will fall at the feet of Tkachuk in this matchup. 

Goalie Anton Forsberg should be in the net for Ottawa here as he is doing decently well this season. So far, he is 10-8-2 with 2.78 goals, and a .916 save percentage this season with a shutout on his ledger. 

The Senators are allowing 3.16 goals on 33.7 shots per game as a team. They have allowed 29 power play goals this season, so they need to shore up in that department to be a better franchise. 

How Should We Bet Montreal at Ottawa?

The Canadiens are 27-22 ATS this season, while the Senators are 21-29 ATS so far. Montreal is a brutal 4-16-6 on the road this year, and that is one of the worst in the league. 

Go with the under as neither team is also scoring the puck well recently as the Canadiens are averaging 2.4 goals in his last five games while the Senators are scoring just two goals in four games. 

All in all, go with the Canadiens to cover the puck line on the road as well as the under to hit here.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.