Wed 05/11/2014 - 08:38 EST

    Canadiens vs Sabres: Montreal Visits Buffalo Looking to Snap a Losing Run

    Montreal's near perfect start has gone slightly south

    Hotter than a two hundred dollar flat screen TV to open the 2014-15 NHL season, though not without some smoke and mirrors, Montreal has fallen on tough times recently. The Canadiens sprinted out of the gate with an 8-2 record but have dropped their last three games and now sit in a three-way tie with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh for top spot in the Eastern Conference. A blackout on offense, coupled with shaky defense and leaky goaltending, led to a road loss in Vancouver (3-2 OT) last Thursday plus bashings at home by Calgary (6-2) on Saturday and Chicago (5-0) last night. While their 8-4 record looks good on it's own, the Habs need to be better at both ends of the rink as they've been outscored by a 18-6 margin in their last four games.

    Buffalo may have found a permanent home as NHL cellar dwellers

    While it's not our intent to bash the hard working bunch in Buffalo, the Sabres simply don't have the talent that's needed to compete in the NHL. Buffalo is now 3-9-1 after they earned a surprising 3-2 SO win at home versus Detroit on Sunday. Don't get too excited though as the Sabres are last in the league with a 1.1 goals pre game average and they have been outshot by a whopping 476-272 combined count over their first 13 games. Buffalo has three goals in the first period, five goals in the second and they have lit the lamp six times in the final frame - good for 14 total goals so far this year. That's way above pace to set an NHL record for fewest goals in a season as the current mark is 133 set by Chicago (in just 70 games) way back during the 1953-54 season. Players like Bill Gadsby and Pete Conacher are cheering for the Bisons to claim that record.

    Sabres vs Canadiens Call: Though not overly impressed by the smoke and mirror start by l'Habitant, including their 27th ranked 2.2 goals per game average, Montreal is the better team in this contest tonight.  The Canadiens were 4-0 versus the Sabres last season as they won by 3-1 and 2-0 scores in games played in Buffalo. We expect Carey Price to get the start in goal tonight as he needs his tires pumped up a bit after allowing 11 goals in his last two games. The fact that Price faced 68 shots didn't help but his rubber load will be a lot lighter tonight as the Sabres have averaged just 15.8 shots on goal over their last five games.

    It's not a load up and prosper wager like the one we placed on Saturday but we like Montreal with a 240 unit puck line wager at the Bet365 sportsbook. Also, while we may need an empty net goal, we'll use some of our "longshot with a chance" bankroll and wager 60 units on the Canadiens to win by two goals exactly.

    Post Publishing Note: Somewhat surprisingly, Dustin Tokarski has been named the starting goaltender for Montreal tonight. In his two starts this season the Humbolt Hab was solid stopping 29 of 30 shots in a 2-1 SO road win over Washington on October 9, and not so solid as he allowed three goals on 19 shots in a 3-0 loss on October 27 in Edmonton. This may actually help as the Montreal defense won't be all loosey-goosey with their All World netminder watching from the pine. We are staying the previously chartered course.

    Bet365 NHL Puck Betting Prices - Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres

    Bet365 NHL Puck Betting Prices - Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres

    Category : Sports News

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