Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds, TV/Radio, And Preview
By Larry Snyder
This evening marks the halfway point in the regular season as it is Game #41 for the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-10-6, 54 points) when they take the ice against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The Pens come into contest one point behind the New York Islanders (27-13-1, 55 points) for first-place in the Metropolitan Division. The Isles defeated the New Jersey Devils on the road Friday, 3-2 in overtime. They take on the Blue Jackets in Columbus tonight.
Michel Therrien’s crew (26-12-2, 54 points) are looking to rebound from their 4-2 home loss on Tuesday to the National Hockey League’s leaders of the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning (27-12-4, 58 points). The Canadiens are 13-5-1 at home this season, 8-2-0 in their last 10 contests and 16-1 when they score the first goal of the game.
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Tonight decides who takes the regular season series as it is the final meeting between the two teams. The Pens won the first matchup 4-0 on Tuesday, Nov. 18 in Montreal, while the Habs took the rematch on Saturday, Jan. 3 in Pittsburgh 4-1.
The Black and Gold are 9-4-4 on the road this season and 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. Their last road victory was a 3-2 win on Saturday, Nov. 29 against the Hurricanes in Carolina. It should also be noted that Mike Johnston’s squad has earned at least one point in 13 of 17 road contests this season.
When: Saturday, Jan. 10
Puck Drop: 7 p.m., ET
Site: Bell Centre
Television: ROOT Sports Network
Announcers: Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey
Radio Coverage: 105.9 FM – The X and the Penguins Radio Network
Announcers: Mike Lange and Phil Bourque
Live Video Steam: NHL GameCenter LIVE
Audio Stream: Penguins Radio 24/7
Sirius XM Satellite Radio: XM Internet 942
Odds: Penguins +1.5 According to Bovada Online Sportsbook with the Over/Under at 5.
This season, the Canadiens are ranked sixth in the NHL on the penalty kill with a 85.6 percent success rate. However, their power play is currently ranked 27th with a success rate of 14.2 percent. In the prior two matchups, Montreal has gone 0-for-7 with the man advantage against Pittsburgh.
One of the players to keep an eye for the Habs is left wing Max Pacioretty, who has three goals in his last three games and leads the team with 17. Defenseman P.K. Subban is the assists leader with 19 while center Lars Eller has put up five game winning scores.
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Betsided
According to Jack Cassidy of the Associated Press, Montreal should start Carey Price in goal tonight. The 6-foot-3, 216-pound netminder is 2-2-2 with a 3.92 goals-against-average in his last six home starts against the Penguins.
The Penguins’ Sam Kasan reported from this morning’s skate that Chris Kunitz was back on the first line, teaming with Sidney Crosby and David Perron. The second line was composed was Nick Spaling, Evgeni Malkin and Beau Bennett while Bryan Rust, Brandon Sutter, and Steve Downie were on the third. The fourth line combination had Zach Sill/Andrew Ebbett, Marcel Goc and Craig Adams.
The defensive pairings were Kris Letang and Christian Ehrhoff; Robert Bortuzzo and Paul Martin; Rob Scuderi and Simon Despres/Derrick Pouliot.
Up Next: The Black and Gold are back at CONSOL Energy Center on Tuesday, Jan. 13 to host the Minnesota Wild (18-16-5, 41 points). The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh and nationally on the NBC Sports Network.
From The Clipboard: Evgeni Malkin leads the team with 12 multi-points games this season. That mark is good for fifth overall in the NHL…Simon Despres has two assists in his last three contests…Beau Bennett seems to have found his groove with two goals and five assists in his last eight games…Sidney Crosby has 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 career points against the Canadiens.