The Montreal Canadiens are wrapping up a four-game Western Conference road trip, going 1-1-1 across the first three outings on the sojourn and coming off a wild 7-6 overtime setback in Vancouver on Monday night.
The Seattle Kraken were smacked back down to Earth with a 5-1 loss at home to the Florida Panthers on Saturday, snapping a six-game winning streak.
Will the historic Original Six team be able to go to Climate Pledge Arena to take care of the upstart Kraken, or will the sophomores teach an old dog new tricks? We’ll discuss in our NHL betting picks for Canadiens vs. Kraken on Tuesday, December 6.
Canadiens vs Kraken best odds
Canadiens vs Kraken picks and predictions
The good news for Montreal is that the Canadiens lit the lamp six times on Monday night, the most in a single game since Oct. 29 in St. Louis. The bad news is that they allowed seven.
The bet on the puck line for the Kraken comes with some risk, as the Habs have actually covered the puck line as the underdog in two of the past three games while going 4-2 in the past six on the puck line as a ‘dog.
On the flip side, the Kraken have failed to cover the puck line in each of the past two games when favored, while cashing on the puck line just once in the past five games when favored.
So why back Seattle? It’s simple. Montreal is coming in on a back-to-back situation, and the Canadiens are playing in the fourth game in six days. Montreal is just 6-18 in the past 24 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation.
Montreal is also just 6-18 in the past 24 games against Pacific Division opponents, including 1-3 in the past four games overall, all against Pacific teams.
Seattle’s Matty Beniers and the Kraken offense have been on fire lately. Prior to the 5-1 setback to Florida, Seattle had lit the lamp three or more times in each outing in the six-game win streak. That’s bad news for a very giving Jake Allen and a shaky Habs D.
Speaking of Beniers, he has bagged five goals with 12 points and a plus-10 rating across the past seven outings. As such, Beniers is a slam-dunk play at Over 0.5 Points (-148 at FanDuel), and he is also worth a roll of the dice as an anytime scorer at 0ver 0.5 Goals (+210 at FanDuel) for a chance to double up.
My best bet: Kraken -1.5 (+115 at BetMGM)
Looking to do some NHL betting? Here are two of the best bonuses* available:
A) New users at FanDuel can get a no-sweat first bet of up to $1,000! Sign Up Now
B) New users at DraftKings can bet $5 and get $150 in free bets! Sign Up Now
*Eligible USA locations only. Also, check out our full list of best sportsbook promotions for 2022.
Canadiens vs Kraken moneyline analysis
The Canadiens turn to primary backstop Allen after Samuel Montembeault took one for the team Monday in a wild 7-6 OT loss, coughing up six goals on 32 shots.
Allen heads into this one with a 7-9-0 record with a pedestrian 3.51 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.
The Kraken are expected to use Philipp Grubauer between the pipes. He has managed a 2-2-1 record, 3.40 GAA and .868 SV% overall this season.
Montreal has been shabby in the defense and goaltending departments lately, coughing up 17 total goals across the past four outings, all against Western Conference teams.
Also, the aforementioned Beniers isn’t the only one scorching hot for the Kraken. Andre Burakovsky is good for five goals and 10 points across the past six games, and he is worth a shot, too, at Over 0.5 Goals (+220 at FanDuel).
If you’d like a little action on the other side, Nick Suzuki has two goals and four points in the first three outings on the road trip. If he lights the lamp, you can also double up by playing Over 0.5 Goals (+200 at FanDuel).
Seattle has won six of the past seven games overall, including three victories in overtime. The young Kraken are learning how to win, and playing a good brand of hockey. Seattle can be trusted against a shaky Montreal side playing for the second time in two nights.
Canadiens vs Kraken Over/Under analysis
We haven’t seen a very good brand of defense from the Canadiens lately. Heck, they just combined for 13 goals in Vancouver last night. The Over is 16-5 in Montreal’s past 21 games against Pacific Division opponents. And if that doesn’t make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, the Over is 11-4-1 in the past 16 games for the Habs when playing on no rest.
On the flip side, the Under is actually 9-3-1 in the past 13 games overall for the Kraken and 7-1-1 in their past nine at home. However, the Over is 27-11-5 in the past 43 games dating back to last season when facing a losing team, for which the Habs certainly qualify.
With Seattle cooking on offense, tallying 27 goals across the past seven outings — or just shy of four goals per game — the Kraken should do plenty of the heavy lifting to get this one across the finish line for an Over result.
Canadiens vs Kraken betting trend to know
The Canadiens have cashed the Over in each of the past two road games against Pacific Division foes, with a combined 21 goals in the pair of away contests. Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs Kraken.
Canadiens vs Kraken game info
| Location: | Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA |
| Date: | Tuesday, December 6, 2022 |
| Puck drop: | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | TSN2, ROOT-Northwest |
Canadiens vs Kraken key injuries
