Canadiens vs Bruins

The Boston Bruins hit home ice looking to snap a three-game skid, while the Canadiens roll in with points in four of their last five and a strong 9-3-4 road mark, turning this into a classic clash between a desperate favorite and a surging underdog. With Boston still owning eight wins in the last 10 head-to-head meetings and having already edged Montreal 3-2 at Bell Centre in November, their core of David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie and Charlie McAvoy has repeatedly driven the matchup, and all three are confirmed on the active roster via ESPN. Montreal counters with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and a dangerous secondary trio of Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen, but significant injuries to Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach plus Sam Montembeault’s absence leave them leaning on a young goaltending tandem that has far less NHL mileage than Jeremy Swayman’s established body of work in Boston. Even short of the 41-game halfway mark, this is effectively a four-point swing in a tight Atlantic race where the Canadiens sit second and the Bruins are just behind them, but Boston’s proven goaltending, home-ice edge and recent dominance in the rivalry make the Bruins at -120 a reasonable, if not spectacular, price compared with Montreal at 100, leading to a Moneyline recommendation on Boston graded at B for solid likelihood with only moderate value. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 23/12/2025 09:31am

Boston and Montreal both come in playing high-event hockey, with each averaging roughly 3.2 goals for and just over 3.2 goals against per game, and their combined offensive output sitting around 6.4 goals per night, which already leans above the current total of 6 at -110 on each side. The Canadiens have been one of the league’s strongest over teams, with the over cashing in well over half their games so far and their recent 5-3-2 run featuring plenty of three-plus-goal efforts from a deep attack led by Suzuki, Caufield and a power play north of 25%. Boston mirrors that profile: the Bruins have gone over 5.5 in a majority of their games, ride a top-10 power play of their own and lean heavily on Pastrnak and Geekie for scoring, while a leaky team-defense stretch and workload on Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo have kept goals-against elevated. With both clubs ranking top-10 in goals scored, bottom half in goals allowed, and computer projections and market consensus clustering around 6.5–6.6 expected goals for this matchup, a fast-paced rivalry game with special-teams chances on both sides makes Over 6 at -110 the preferred side, graded B+ thanks to strong statistical support and still-fair juice. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 23/12/2025 09:31am

Given how often these teams play one-goal games, the Montreal Canadiens catching +1.5 at -250 on the road has appeal, even while the straight-up lean is toward Boston on the moneyline. The Canadiens are 8-4-2 in one-goal decisions and have recently pushed quality opponents to the wire, including that 3-2 loss to Boston and a shootout defeat in Pittsburgh, while the Bruins are just 7-6-0 in one-goal games and have been wobbling defensively during their current three-game slide. With Montreal’s roster still icing its key forwards and offensive defensemen despite injuries to Guhle and Dach, their speed and transition game should keep them within striking distance, and models projecting a 4-3 type Bruins win align well with a tight margin that favors the underdog on the puckline. Boston’s historical edge in the rivalry and superior goaltending with Swayman keep the blowout risk real, so the heavy juice tempers the enthusiasm, but in a matchup where Montreal has consistently stayed inside a goal even when losing, Canadiens +1.5 at -250 earns a B- grade as a safety-first angle that sacrifices payout for a higher probability of cashing. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 23/12/2025 09:31am