NHL Lines: Montreal vs Pittsburgh Pick
Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference will face off on Hockey Night in Canada when the Montreal Canadiens (24-11-2) take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-9-5). Cappers Picks will provide free NHL picks all season so check back in often.
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Saturday Hockey night in Canada
Montreal vs Pittsburgh
When: Saturday Jan. 3 at 7:00 pm EST
Where: CONSOL Energy Center
TV: CBC
NHL Gambling Line: Montreal / Pittsburgh
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The Canadiens put a four game winning streak on the line on Saturday night when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. Pittsburgh recently snapped out of a four game losing streak and are looking to get back on track to regain the top spot in the East.
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Canadiens
Montreal hasn’t missed a step despite being in the midst of a lengthy road trip while the Bell Centre is in use for the World Junior Hockey Championships.
The Habs have run off four straight wins and sit just two points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Eastern Conference. They will get their toughest test of the trip so far when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the same team that pummeled them 4-0 back in November.
Montreal is a good team yes, but where I find a hard time trusting them is their performances against elite quality teams such as Pittsburgh. The Habs do a fine job of beating the teams they’re supposed to which has lent to their sparkling record, but in their last four games against top quality teams (Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Chicago, New York Islanders) the Islanders are the only team that they’ve been able to earn two points against.
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This game starts a very tough three game stretch for Montreal where they will play the Pens twice with a match up with the Lightning sandwiched in between. For Montreal to keep pace with the top clubs in the East they’re going to need to come away with points in at least two of these next three.
Penguins
Pittsburgh hit a bit of a stumble and their lead in the East has vanished thanks to a four game winning streak by the Lightning coupled with their own four game losing streak.
More disturbing than the four straight losses was the teams that they lost to, specifically New Jersey and Washington, both of which the Penguins have normally rolled through. Losing to Florida in a shootout doesn’t do much to inspire confidence in this team either.
The Pens got a not so convincing win over the Hurricanes to close out 2014 in a game where they outshot Carolina 41-26 but only managed a 2-1 victory. The offensively gifted Pens have been struggling to find offensive synergy of late and have only managed three goals in their last three games.
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Montreal is tough team defensively and are backstopped by one of the best goalies in the game so the Pens will be in tough to get on the scoreboard unless they can find the offensive chemistry that makes them a dangerous team.
Canadiens vs. Penguins 4* Free Pick
Pittsburgh is a tough place for opposing teams to play and the Pens boast a very good 14-5-1 record at home. I’m just not sold on Pittsburgh right now as they’ve been struggling to score and the offense just seems a bit out of sync.
Go with the Canadiens in this one.
Montreal is rolling and Pittsburgh is not at their best; combine those factors with the 4-0 loss earlier in the season that Montreal will be looking to atone for and I think this one adds up to a Montreal win.
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