Face-off: 1900 ET, 17/03/2022
Arena: Centre Bell
Montreal upset Dallas 5-3 in Texas when on a miserable run in January, so look a value bet to repeat the feat now in much better shape.
The Stars are bang in contention to qualify for the playoffs but have suffered from travel sickness at times this term and are worth taking on.
Punters can get 2.65 for a home win on the money line and that is tempting enough for our Montreal Canadiens vs Dallas Stars predictions.
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Montreal Canadiens Odds
Montreal began a six-match homestand by losing 6-3 to Arizona on Tuesday but are still a healthy 8-3-1 from their last 12 outings.
Trading veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot to Florida this week is a bit of a concern, but getting goaltender Jake Allen back from injury is a big boost.
Allen is expected to start here and said: “For me, it’s just about finishing the season on a strong foot. It’s the same mindset as the whole team.”
Sam Montembeault has impressed in Allen’s absence, so the number one shot-stopper will be keen to show his worth straight away.
The Canadiens will be determined to avoid another slow start, having trailed the Coyotes 4-1 after 20 minutes, before holding their own over the next two periods.
That followed two tight tussles with Seattle and Philadelphia which yielded three points.
“I think we’ve played well the past three games,” said coach Martin St Louis after the Arizona clash. “We deserved better here.”
Backing both teams to score more than twice would have paid off in Montreal’s last four fixtures and six of the past seven, with the other result being a 5-2 win at Edmonton.
Looking at the NHL odds for this contest, 2.95 for each side to net at least three times obviously catches the eye.
Dallas Stars Odds
Dallas still have an outside chance of making the top three in the Central Division but a hat-trick of losses have halted their progress.
Tuesday’s 4-0 drubbing at Toronto left the Stars with a 12-15-2 record on the road and was particularly worrying.
“It’s frustrating because we looked slow because we kept turning the puck over,” moaned coach Rick Bowness.
“Our puck management was terrible all over the ice and they looked a lot faster because their puck management was right on, their passes were right on the tape in full stride.
“We were putting pucks in skates, bouncing pucks over sticks. We weren’t nearly physical enough either, so if you correct those two areas, the rest of it will correct itself.”
Dallas can be expected to respond in a positive manner to being shut out, but we still feel they are priced up too short here.
Let’s finish off our Montreal Canadiens vs Dallas Stars predictions with a speculative wager on the Habs to prevail 4-3 at 16.0.
Additional stats
Last result:
MONTREAL 3-6 Arizona
Toronto 4-0 DALLAS
Season head-to-head: Dallas 3-5 Montreal
