NHL Betting Guide

The Montreal Canadiens have enjoyed a solid season thus far, sitting in the 2nd to last playoff spot, but need to be wary as the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers continue to sit in the picture.

The Canadiens were expected by many to be a bottom of the group playoff team and thus far in the season have met such expectations with a 35-29-6( Wins-losses-overtime losses) record thus far in the season. They have really turned it on as of late, winning 5 in a row and putting themselves in position lock up a playoff spot with continued solid play.

The secret to the Canadiens’ success thus far in the season has been their work offensively and defensively on the power play. They have scored on the power play 23.5% of the time which is the 2nd highest in the conference only behind the number 1 Capitals squad. They also have succeeded in killing the powerplay more than 83% of the time. This type of success in capitalizing on the mistakes of others is huge when it comes playoff time where you need to step up when it’s time every time.

The Canadiens are led by Tomas Plekanec with 20 goals and a whopping 44 assists thus far on the season. Their goaltender, Jarozslav Halak(22-10-2, 2.52 goals against average, .922 save percentage)  has been fantastic for them in the recent weeks, winning 8 of his last 9 starts, playing well enough to keep the Canadiens in contention here down the stretch.

Halak’s performance down the stretch will be the key to their continued success. When he has been good, the Canadiens have as well.