Montreal @ Pittsburgh picks
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Cole Caufield anytime goal (+155)
The Habs sniper extended his goal streak to four games in the process and is now up to 10 goals on the season, tied with Nico Hischier for the league lead. Caufield hasn’t been shooting the puck at an astronomical rate, averaging just under three shots per game, but he’s converted on 31.3% of those shots. That number is most likely unsustainable long term, but Caufield can certainly keep it up for a while if the power play keeps firing. Caufield has scored four of his 10 goals on the man advantage, including two in the last three games. Montreal’s power play sits at 22% on the season (11th) but has been clicking at 26.3% over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the league’s weakest defensive teams, allowing four goals per game (30th) with a team save percentage of .890 (t-19th).
Sidney Crosby anytime goal (+125)
The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Montreal Canadiens in the evening portion of Saturday’s NHL slate. Simply put, Pittsburgh’s offense is due for positive regression. Despite ranking 20th in goals scored per game, the Penguins rank sixth in xGF/60. This expected positive regression is likely to come to fruition against Montreal, a team that ranks in the Bottom 5 of the league in goals allowed per game, shots on goal allowed per game, penalty minutes taken per game, and xGA/60. Subsequently, goaltender Sam Montembeault has struggled behind the product in front of him. Montembeault possesses a .891 SV% and 3.67 GAA through seven starts. That brings us to Sidney Crosby, who is coming off his best game of the season. He skates on both the first line and the first powerplay unit, two equally opportunistic ways to score against the Habs. Unsurprisingly, Crosby has scored four goals over the past 10 meetings against Montreal.
Rickard Rakell o0.5 Goals Scored (+195)
Rickard Rakell skates alongside Sidney Crosby on the first line, which is expected to go against Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Emil Heineman. That Canadiens line ranks 311th out of the 325 lines to play 10+ minutes this season in xGA/60. Furthermore, Crosby and Rakell both skate together on the first powerplay unit, which could strike against a Montreal team that ranks 29th in penalty minutes taken per game.
