The Montreal Canadiens (27-24-7) pay a Wednesday visit to the hated Boston Bruins (34-11-12) Wednesday at TD Garden for a 7:30 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Canadiens-Bruins sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Canadiens at Bruins: Projected starting goalies
Carey Price vs. Tuukka Rask
Price leads all goaltenders with 47 games and 2,781 minutes played. The 32-year-old has bounced back of late and now owns a .913 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average. He has been at his best on the road with a .921 SV% and 2.63 GAA.
Rask, also 32, is 20-5-6 on the season with a league-best 2.14 GAA and a .929 SV% through 32 games (all starts). His best starts have been at home, where he has a .930 SV% and 2.07 GAA with three shutouts.
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Canadiens at Bruins: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated at 8:20 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Bruins 3, Canadiens 2
Moneyline (ML)
The two Atlantic Division rivals are both 7-3 across their last 10 games but they’re both coming off a loss last time out. The BRUINS (-222) fell 3-1 to the Detroit Red Wings Sunday, and the Habs (+180) lost 3-2 to the Arizona Coyotes Monday. Boston leads the season series 2-1 while having outscored Montreal 15-7 across the three games.
Boston has the head-to-head advantage, the rest advantage and a strong home advantage with a record of 19-2-9 at the Garden, while Montreal is 14-9-3 on the road. The line is much more lopsided and chalky than expected for this rivalry matchup, but the Bruins are the play on the moneyline.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Bruins to win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns a profit of $4.50.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The better play against the spread is to back the CANADIENS (+1.5, -154) to keep it a 1-goal game in a loss or win outright. The Habs won the season’s first meeting in Montreal by a 5-4 count before being routed 8-1 just three weeks later in the same venue. The Bruins most recently earned a 3-1 win at the Garden Dec. 1.
The Canadiens are just 28-30 against the spread overall but 17-9 on the road. The Bruins are 26-31 ATS overall and 13-17 at home.
Over/Under (O/U)
Another odd line for this game is the UNDER 5.5 (+105) being the far more profitable side of the total bet. Both starting goalies are well-accomplished and playing in the strong side of their respective location splits for the season. We’re looking for a 3-2 Bruins win to cash all three of our bets Wednesday.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 222-208
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