Max Domi has been a revelation in his first season with the Montreal Canadiens, as the son of tough guy Tie Domi has burst out of the gate to the tune of nine goals and 21 points in his first 17 games with the bleu, blanc et rouge. Domi is carrying his second six-game point streak of the campaign into tonight’s matchup with the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
- The Canadiens are 2-7 SU in their last nine games vs the Oilers.
- The total has gone OVER in the Canadiens’ last four games (avg. combined score: 8.75).
- The Oilers are 0-4 SU in their last four games (avg. losing margin: 2.75).
Canadiens vs Oilers Game Center
New faces are making an impact on the Habs
Canadiens head coach Claude Julien’s decision to shift Domi to center in the preseason is clearly paying dividends, as the 23-year-old has four goals and 10 points in six November games. Another newcomer to Montreal, Tomas Tatar, has scored four of his seven goals in the last three tilts, including one in Saturday’s 5-4 triumph over his former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Montreal has fared well on this road trip in past years, going 9-5-1 SU on its Western Canada road swing over the last five seasons.
The Oilers swept both meetings with the Habs in 2017-18 by a combined score of 10-3, with left-winger Jujhar Khaira scoring three of his 11 goals last season in those games. Edmonton has allowed a power-play goal in each of its past four games and has the fifth-worst penalty-killing unit in the NHL. Edmonton is mired in its worst skid of the 2018-19 season, dropping four in a row heading into tonight’s matchup.
At 8-8-1 SU, the Oilers rank 11th in the Western Conference, with all-world center Connor McDavid failing to record a point in his last three games after recording at least one in 13 of his first 14 contests.
Canadiens rarely win two in a row
While the Canadiens are a vastly improved team this season, they’ve been far from a consistent moneyline wager lately. Montreal is 0-5 SU in its past five games when coming off a win, so collecting two triumphs in a row has been no small task for the Habs. Montreal is also a measly 2-7 SU in its last nine meetings with the Oilers.
Totals bettors might want to pay attention to the OVER in this one, as the Canadiens have gone above the closing total in each of their last four games, with an average combined score of 8.8 goals.
Oilers turn to backup Koskinen in between the pipes
Mikko Koskinen (3-1-0, 2.63 goals-against average, .915 save percentage) is slated to get the start for the Oilers, while the Canadiens had yet to confirm a starting goalie as of this writing. When it happens, we'll update the preview accordingly.
