The Montreal Canadiens (27-26-8) pay a visit to the lowly Detroit Red Wings (14-43-4) Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena for a 7:30 p.m. ET puck drop. Both teams have lost four games in a row. We analyze the Canadiens-Red Wings sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Canadiens at Red Wings: Projected starting goalies
Carey Price vs. Jonathan Bernier
Price has gone 0-3-1 across his last four games while allowing a total of 13 goals. The 32-year-old has appeared in a league-high 50 games and is 24-21-5 with a .911 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average.
Bernier dropped three straight decisions but made a relief appearance Sunday in favor of Jimmy Howard and stopped 18 of 19 shots faced. He is 12-17-2 on the season with a .909 SV% and 2.88 GAA.
Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.
Canadiens at Red Wings: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Red Wings 4, Canadiens 3
Moneyline (ML)
With both teams mired in slumps, the RED WINGS (+165) are the play for a profitable return on home ice. The Canadiens (-200) have slipped to sixth in the Atlantic Division, but remain 30 points clear of the Wings. Still, I would never lay that kind of chalk on a road team having lost four straight games.
Additionally, the Wings lead the season series 3-0. They have 4-2, 2-1 and 4-3 victories, and two of those were on the road. Be sure to take the value.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Wings to win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns a profit of $16.50, while the same bet on the Canadiens fetches a profit of just $5.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The RED WINGS (+1.5, -167) are also worth backing to lose by no more than 1 goal or win outright. Detroit is just 24-37 against the spread overall and 12-17 at home, while Montreal is 29-32 ATS overall but 17-11 on the road. Follow the head-to-head season series trend and expect Detroit to at least keep this one close.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the OVER 5.5 (-106) as the more profitable side of the total bet. Both offenses are struggling, but so are the two starting goaltenders. Two of the three head-to-head meetings this season topped Tuesday’s projected total.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 235-224
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=2059]