Habs Looking To Keep Their Winning Streak Alive

It won’t be an easy game tonight for the Habs, but they will have the momentum of having the home crowd on their side, and the confidence from playing some solid hockey over the last few games to secure big wins should help them in tonight’s matchup. On the other hand, after Celebrini had an incredible 4-point night in the last matchup, this is something the Habs need to watch out for because he can take over a game easily with his talent. The Canadiens will need to have a special game plan to slow him down if they want to win tonight.

In goal tonight, the Habs will be giving the start to Jakub Dobes, who has looked amazing in his last two games since he had a rough outing against the Sharks. Considering the Habs have a back-to-back this weekend and he’s getting the start tonight, there is a good chance he requested to play tonight’s game to get his revenge against the Sharks to show them that he can bounce back and have a good night against Celebrini and his team. Aside from that game against Dobes, he’s continued to do everything in his power to get Habs wins, as he’s now 10-1-2 in his last 13 starts. Can he show the Sharks that he can bounce back against them tonight?

There will also be another huge lineup change as the Canadiens announced that Brendan Gallagher will be getting the night off, as Cole Caufield will return tonight after missing Wednesday’s game with an illness. Caufield will be back on the top line with Juraj Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki, which means that Alexandre Texier will draw in on the 4th line alongside Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson. The Habs also announced that Gallagher will play on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.

As for the Sharks, they announced that Alex Nedeljkovic is getting the start for them in the nets. Nedeljkovic has been up and down in his recent starts, where he has had 3 great outings, mixed in with two bad performances. With that being said, it could make for an interesting night for the Habs’ offence, which is the 3rd best in the NHL this season. However, Nedeljkovic has been a Habs killer in nets, where he has a .947 save percentage with a 1.74 GAA alongside a 3-1-1 record throughout his career against the Canadiens.

Given last week’s high-scoring affair between these two teams, the over seems like a great bet as both the Habs and Sharks have high-powered offences. Regardless of Nedeljkovic’s great numbers against the Habs, we should expect a good number of goals. The total for tonight’s clash is set at 6.5 goals. With how things have been going for the Habs as of late, the oddsmakers are recognizing their success and have listed them as big -170 home favourites despite the loss at the beginning of the month.

Rookie Ivan Demidov has been starting to re-find his game again after a slow start coming out of the Olympic break; he will be looking to regain sole possession as the rookie points leader by recording a point tonight after getting 2 goals and 4 points in his last 5 games. He also scored a goal against the Sharks when they played earlier this month. Expect Demidov to find the scoresheet tonight. Bet on him to get a point at -160 odds or a goal at +260. Combine a Demidov point with the over 6.5 goals and a Habs win to boost your odds to +250 with a Same Game Parlay.

Do you think Dobes and the Habs will get revenge on the Sharks tonight for their 7-5 loss on March 2nd?