Hockey Night in Vegas

By: Rich Douglas

Montreal Canadiens -115 at Calgary Flames

We're going with the small road favorite tonight in this battle between two Canadian franchises that have gone in completely different directions over the last 5 years. Gone are the days of Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kipprusoff leading the Flames to the playoffs as Calgary management is finally coming to the realization that they have to rebuild. Montreal is coming off of a stellar regular season where they took their division, but ended up disappointingly bowing out of the first round to an underrated Senators squad. Their abrupt exit last season and the difficulty of their division has led people to overlook Montreal early on in the year, but they should prove to be confident enough to defeat a bottom dwelling Flames squad.

Three Reasons Why Montreal Will Win
-It's a small sample size, but their puck possession stats have been good to start the season. They rank 4th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage, and while you can't completely judge a team's stats this early on, I think they'll be consistently in the top 10 throughout the year as a result of their system and personnel. Last year they were 8th in the league in Fenwick.

-Carey Price vs. Joey MacDonald. In red corner, you have a top 10 goaltender in the last 7 seasons. In the...other red corner you have a career backup who has looked below average this season, just like how he's looked below average his whole career. You know what you're getting with these two.

-Calgary's defense. Montreal is the kind of team that gives the Flames defense fits. They aren't big and overly physical, but the Canadiens are a fast & skilled bunch that should enter the zone with ease and work their possession game against all of Calgary's defensive pairings.

The price is a bargain. Take Montreal on the moneyline.