Calgary Flames (19-23-3) vs Montreal Canadiens (20-15-9)
Game Info: Friday, April 23, 2021 at 9:00 pm (Scotiabank Saddledome)
Betting Odds: Calgary Flames +107 / Montreal Canadiens -118 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames meet in NHL action from the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday night.
The Montreal Canadiens will look to build on a 4-3 win over the Oilers last time out. Tyler Toffoli leads the Habs in scoring with 33 points including a team-high 22 goals while Jeff Petry has 32 points with 11 goals and a team-high 21 assists. Jonathan Drouin also has 21 assists while Josh Anderson has 17 goals and Tomas Tatar and Nick Suzuki each have 19 assists as well for Montreal this season. As a team, Montreal is averaging 2.9 goals on 32 shots with a 19% success rate on the power play while allowing 2.8 goals on 28.1 shots against with a 77.8% success rate on the PK this season.
The Calgary Flames will look to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to the Senators in their last game. Elias Lindholm leads the Flames in scoring with 39 points with 13 goals and a team-high 26 assists while Johnny Gaudreau has a team-high 15 goals with 18 assists. Matthew Tkachuk has 30 points with 10 goals and 20 assists while Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano all have double-digit assist totals as well this season. As a team, Calgary is averaging 2.6 goals on 29.9 shots with a 20% success rate on the PP while allowing 2.9 goals on 29 shots with an 81.2% kill rate on the PK this season.
Montreal is 4-10 in their last 14 road games and 0-4 in their last 4 games following a win while the under is 5-1-1 in their last 7 games overall. Calgary is 4-10 in their last 14 games overall and 1-4 in their last 5 Friday games while the under is 6-0-1 in their last 7 games against a team with a losing record. The home team is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings between these two teams.
I think it’s safe to say that no one has been harsher on the Montreal Canadiens than I have this season and it’s been for good reason. However, the Canadiens have finally started to show a sense of urgency now that they’re in the final playoff spot in the North division and are realizing that teams are chasing after them, including Calgary. I think we see that sense of urgency show up again here as the Canadiens get a win in this one.
Chris’s Pick Montreal -118
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg