Face-off: 2030 ET, 13/01/2022
Venue: United Center
Montreal were beaten 2-0 by Chicago at Bell Centre last month and look up against it again in the return fixture at United Center.
The Blackhawks just appear to have found a bit of form, whereas the Canadiens have been struggling both on and off the ice for some time now.
Looking at the NHL odds for this contest, 1.87 for Chicago to prevail in regular time is rated a solid selection.
Chicago Blackhawks Odds
Chicago are back in front of their own fans following a couple of encouraging road wins, obliging 2-1 at Vegas and 4-2 at Columbus.
Alex DeBrincat has been a standout performer for the Blackhawks this term and hit a double versus the Blue Jackets to make it six goals in five games and 23 for the season.
However, interim head coach Derek King was also happy to see defensemen Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy contributing with scores.
“It’s huge for where we are,” King said. “Maybe some guys are not scoring right away, but you get contributions from other players and that’s what we need.”
Losing Seth Jones and Jake McCabe to Covid protocols was a blow but Czech import Jakub Galvas impressed on his NHL debut.
Highly-rated teenager Lukas Reichel is set to be given a taste of the big time against Montreal and the future is starting to look brighter for the Blackhawks.
With evergreen goalie Marc-Andre Fleury another player in fine form, 2.9 for Chicago to win and under 5.5 goals appeals in our NHL predictions.
Montreal Canadiens Odds
Arizona’s win over Toronto last night left Montreal rock-bottom in the NHL standings with a 7-24-4 record – and only two of those wins have come on the road.
The Canadiens have suffered a hat-trick of away defeats, losing 14-3 on aggregate at Carolina, Florida and Boston.
Yesterday’s 5-1 drubbing by the Bruins came after four home matches were postponed due to Covid issues.
Ben Chiarot, Chris Wideman, Jeff Petry, Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Laurent Dauphin, Artturi Lehkonen, Mike Hoffman and Jake Allen were all back available.
However, Allen was replaced in goal by Sam Montembeault not long after going 2-0 down towards the end of the first period and did not return due to an undisclosed injury.
Michael Pezzetta grabbed a consolation strike at TD Garden but there was not much else to take encouragement from.
“It’s tough to come off a break like that,” said defenseman Petry. “It’s hard to jump right into that compete and that battle. I think that’s what hurt us.”
Head coach Dominique Ducharme may go back to basics and batten down the hatches here, but it will still be tough for Montreal going forward.
Let’s add 3.6 for a home win and the visitors to net less than two goals to our Chicago Blackhawks vs Montreal Canadiens predictions, along with 12.5 for a 4-1 scoreline.
Additional stats
Last result:
Columbus 2-4 CHICAGO
Boston 5-1 MONTREAL
Head-to-head: Montreal 0-2 Chicago, Montreal 1-4 Chicago, Montreal 0-2 Chicago, Chicago 2-3 Montreal
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