It’s an Original Six battle at the Bell Centre tonight, with the Montreal Canadiens hosting the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division showdown.
Montreal is in the thick of the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference, while Boston has dropped nine straight to fall to the Eastern basement.
My Bruins vs. Canadiens predictions are calling for the Habs to win convincingly. Find out more in my NHL picks for Thursday, April 3.
Canadiens vs Bruins prediction
My Canadiens pick: Canadiens -1.5 puck line (+125 at BET99)
My Canadiens analysis
The Boston Bruins are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL during their active 3-14-3 run. They've also dropped nine straight, with six of those losses coming by two or more goals.
Even with the Montreal Canadiens having a few flaws of their own, I’m happy to take the plus-money odds and back the team competing for a postseason berth over the team that appears to have packed it in.
It’s been even worse on the highway for the Bruins during the noted stretch. Boston has scored the fifth-fewest goals and generated the fewest expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five on the road, and No. 1 goalie Jeremy Swayman is 1-5 with a disastrous .863 save percentage, 3.61 GAA, and -1.68 goals saved above average.
As a result, I’m viewing Boston as a huge downtick in class after Montreal topped the Panthers in consecutive games. Simply put, the Bruins are short on impact talent, and the supporting cast isn’t packing enough punch behind star David Pastrnak.
Meanwhile, Habs netminder Sam Montembeault has been solid on home ice since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off. He’s 6-0-1 with a .917 SV% percentage and 2.24 GAA, with the lone blemish coming to the powerhouse Avalanche when he was bombarded with 37 shots.
The Bruins don’t have the same level of offensive firepower jumping the boards.
Canadiens vs Bruins same-game parlay (SGP)
Canadiens -1.5 puck line
Alex Newhook Over 1.5 shots
Elias Lindholm Under 0.5 points
Habs center Alex Newhook has been a consistent secondary shooter and has recorded two or more shots in 12 of his past 17 games, ranking third in shots per 60 (12.12) and fourth in attempts (14.84) per 60 minutes on the club. Those numbers are way up from his respective 5.18 and 12.01 marks to start the year.
Boston also has a 26th-ranked 46.8 Corsi For percentage and 29th-ranked 46.0% shot share at 5-on-5 during its 20-game skid, so I like Newhook’s potential at even strength, in addition to him skating on the second power-play unit.
Turning to the final leg of this same-game parlay, Bruins center Elias Lindholm has missed the scoresheet in 10 of the past 16 games for a pedestrian 1.48 points per 60 minutes. He’s also only been on the ice for 2.54 goals and 2.98 expected goals per 60, and those numbers shrink to 1.8 and 1.95 at 5-on-5.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Canadiens vs Bruins odds
Canadiens vs Bruins live odds
Canadiens vs Bruins opening odds
- Puck line: Montreal -1.5 (+140) | Boston +1.5 (-165)
- Moneyline: Montreal -190 | Boston +155
- Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-120) | Under 5.5 (+100)
Odds courtesy of BET99
Canadiens vs Bruins trend
Boston has only covered the puck line in 42 of its last 94 games (-22.10 Units / -16% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs. Bruins.
How to watch Canadiens vs Bruins
| Location | Centre Bell, Montreal, QC |
| Date | Thursday, 4-3-2025 |
| Puck drop | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Sportsnet, RDS |
Canadiens vs Bruins latest injuries
Not intended for use in MA.
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