The Ottawa Senators are 1.5-point NHL live betting underdogs against the Montreal Canadians, which stands to reason. While the latter have won two straight games, which has uncoincidentally coincided with the return of goalie Carey Price, the former have lost six straight – the worst stretch in the Guy Boucher era – which has, coincidentally or not, with their return from Sweden, where they beat Colorado twice, though some have been quick to point their fingers to center Matt Duchene, or rather, the trade that brought him to Ottawa, as the real culprit.=
It's a #Sens game day!
The Sens start a 7-game road trip tonight when they take on the Canadiens. pic.twitter.com/uH5wP2XOES
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 29, 2017
- Date: Wednesday, 29th November
- Time: 7:35 PM
- Venue: Bell Centre
- Sportsbook NHL Hockey Betting Lines:
Senators +1½ (-260) 5½ (+105) +110
Canadiens -1½ (+220) 5½ (-125) -130
Three-ways sometimes lead to awkward mornings after
The Sens acquired Duchene in a three-way trade involving the Avalanche and the Predators, who received Kyle Turris from the Sens. Following the menage-a-trade, Ottawa hasn’t scored more than two times during the losing streak after scoring three or more in seven of eight games before the deal was struck. Duchene in particular has just one point since the team returned from Sweden. On the plus side, Duchene is coming off his best, or rather, least bad, game with the Sens, scoring a power-play goal in Saturday’s 1-2 loss to the Islanders. “We’ve got to a win a game,” alternate captain Dion Phaneuf said. “I can’t say it anymore honestly to you. When you’re not winning games and you’re going through a stretch like we’ve gone through, it’s not fun. There’s nothing fun about it.” The Senators are 1-4 in their last five road games, 0-5 in their last five playing Eastern Conference teams, 0-6 in their last six overall, and 0-4 in the last four meetings with the Canadiens. The NHL live betting total has gone over in four of the last six encounters between the two.
The Price is Right
Montreal goalie Carey Price has, following a 10-game absence, stopped 72 of 73 shots in wins against the Buffalo Sabres and the Columbus Blue Jackets. “[Price] battled for us, competed for us. He made some big saves,” forward Andrew Shaw said. “It’s great to have him back. He’s healthy. He’s hungry. He’s excited. He’s been our best player for sure the last two games. He’s making those big-time saves. I think we’re still relying on him too much. We’ve got to be playing better in front of him, but we know he’s got our back.” And speaking of returns, defenseman David Schlemko might make his season debut, though it’ll be a game-time decision. “I’m ready if I get the call,” said Schlemko. “I talked to coach [Claude Julien] and we decided that I might be pushing it after I played back-to-back games [with the Laval Rocket] Saturday and Sunday.” The Canadiens are 0-5 in their last five Wednesday games, 6-2 in their last eight plating Eastern Conference teams, and 2-5 in their last seven overall. The NHL live betting total has gone under in nine of Montreal’s last 11 overall games.