The Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens meet in Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals tonight. Puck drop is set for 8:00 p.m. EDT at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC. The game will be broadcast live on TNT.
The Hurricanes are priced at +180 to cover the puck-line (-1.5), with the over/under set at 5.5 (-130o/+110u). The Hurricanes are a -140 favorite to win outright, while the Canadiens are +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Hurricanes vs. Canadiens predictions and NHL picks.
Hurricanes vs Canadiens Prediction
- Hurricanes vs Canadiens Pick: Nikolaj Ehlers Over 2.5 Shots on Goal -105
My best bet for Hurricanes vs. Canadiens is Ehlers Over 2.5 Shots on Goal. For updated odds, visit our NHL odds page.
Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Odds, Pick
| Hurricanes Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +178 | 5.5 -130o / +110u | -139 |
| Canadiens Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -220 | 5.5 -130o / +110u | +118 |
- Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Spread: Hurricanes -1.5 (+178), Canadiens +1.5 (-220)
- Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Over/Under: 5.5 (-130o / +110u)
- Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Moneyline: Hurricanes -140, Canadiens +120
Hurricanes vs Canadiens NHL Polymarket Odds
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Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Preview
Carolina Hurricanes Betting Preview
After a 12-day layoff, the Hurricanes offered a very disorganized, sloppy performance in Game 1. Their defenders made countless poor reads, leading to several odd-man attacks and unpressured chances from the most threatening areas of the ice. It seemed obvious that Carolina would deliver a sharper defensive performance in Game 2, and it allowed only seven high-danger scoring chances and 12 shots on goal.
Nikolaj Ehlers' game-breaking ability and dynamic skill set off the rush offer reasons this Canes team might be different than in previous years under Rod Brind'Amour. His two critical tallies in Game 2 prevented another trademark Eastern Conference loss, in a game that always felt like theirs despite the close scoreline.
Frederik Andersen holds a save percentage of .788 in the series and is starting to feel like somewhat of a question mark once again after playing exceptionally well in Rounds One and Two. Reviewing Montreal's seven goals off Andersen in the series, he doesn't appear to have played as poorly as his save percentage suggests, but he certainly feels like a weakness relative to his counterpart currently.
While the narrative that the Hurricanes might be rusty in Game 1 was proven entirely accurate, as the series wears on, the rest advantage from playing only eight games to arrive at this point may start to become more meaningful.
It feels as though we know Carolina will generate more shots on goal and carry more of the overall run of play in each game of the series, but the key will be to remain organized when plays do turn the other way and prevent a clinical Canadiens side from creating the type of chances that are likely to be finished at a high rate.
While the Hurricanes' breakneck pace and ability to prevent time and space have once again led to excellent underlying results this postseason, the majority of their 10 games have still featured notably close scorelines, which makes the threat of Jakub Dobes outplaying Andersen a considerably meaningful concern.
After playing one of the worst games of his career in Game 1, Jaccob Slavin had a much sharper performance in Game 2 alongside partner Jalen Chatfield, as with the pairing on the ice, Carolina held a 6-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances and a +3 goal differential.
Montreal Canadiens Betting Preview
The glass half-full take on Game 2 would be to point out that even on a night where Carolina was quite dominant, the scrappy Canadiens were able to drag the game into overtime.
Montreal's process hasn't always been overly convincing this postseason, but it has done a good job of avoiding backbreaking mistakes to leave itself a legitimate chance of winning the majority of its matchups.
Montreal has not yet lost two straight games this postseason, and in several instances, has replied after convincing losses where its opponent felt it had overtaken control of the series. Maybe the Hurricanes will prove to be a different animal, but Martin St. Louis's side has answered the bell in this type of situation thus far.
Lane Hutson's health is currently a meaningful question mark entering this game after taking an awkward hit to the leg in Game 2. Hutson is arguably the team's most important skater, and a meaningful drop-off in form would greatly hurt the Canadiens' chances in a series where it feels as though the team needs to play to its ceiling.
Dobes has played to a +16.8 GSAx rating and .909 save percentage this postseason. He's priced at +1400 to win the Conn Smythe, and if you are a believer in the Canadiens finishing off this magical run, that number looks to provide significantly more value than backing the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup at +475.
Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Prediction
The Canadiens' ability to hang around and steal contests places just enough fear into me to lay off betting Carolina at -140.
Chances are we won't see the Hurricanes punt another game in this series the way they did in Game 1, but Montreal's ability to lean on Dobes and counter-punch effectively is concerning right now, given that Andersen's play feels to be a question mark.
This does feel like a good time to ride with Ehlers to continue pouring pucks on target after his strong performance in Game 2. The combination of Ehlers, Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook has been Carolina's best trio in the series and should continue to skate in a lot of winnable matchups.
Ehlers has averaged 6.11 shot attempts per game this postseason and is likely due for a slight uptick in shots landing on target to begin with. At -105, there looks to be strong value betting him to manage at least three shots on goal Monday.
Pick: Nikolaj Ehlers Over 2.5 Shots on Goal -105 (DraftKings, Play to -110)
