NHL Predictions: December 20th Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens

It’s a hockey night in Montreal, Quebec as the Canadiens host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here with Last Word On Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for games around the NHL. In tonight’s matchup, Montreal looks to pick up momentum against a spiraling Penguin squad.

NHL Predictions: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens

Head-to-Head: Canadiens 1-0 Penguins

Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)

How to Watch: Sportsnet+, TVAS, SNE, CITY, SN-PIT

Team Canada hopeful for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens, host Canadian hero Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Penguins Story

After a 4-0 shutout loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost seven-straight games and are 2-4-4 in their last 10. With the recent stretch, the Penguins are now 14-10-9 on the season. They’ve fallen out of a playoff spot and look to be heading towards their original trajectory of being a bottom-feeder team for the year. With rumours already starting to fly about veterans like Danton Heinen, Kevin Hayes, Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba, expect the Penguins to use these games as a bit of a showcase for the older players that they hope to gain some assets on. 

Sidney Crosby leads the team with 19 goals and 35 points in 33 games. However, Crosby has struggled as of late, looking completely demoralized. He has just one goal and four points through his last five games. Behind him is Evgeni Malkin, who has now missed seven games. He’s still second in team scoring 29 points through 26 games, that includes eight tucks. Possible veteran trade candidate Bryan Rust has done well,  scoring 12 goals in 28 points through 31 games. Erik Karlsson has also put together a good season with three goals and 25 points through 33 games so far. The Penguins will be facing Montreal on both Saturday and Sunday in a back-to-back. As Arturs Silovs got the start against Ottawa, expect Stuart Skinner to get the start in the first half of this back-to-back series. Skinner has started just one game for the Penguins, a loss to his former team, the Edmonton Oilers. Look for Skinner to try to bounce back both for himself and for the Penguins, who are currently on a skid.

Canadiens Story

Montreal comes into this game off a 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. With the win, Montreal improved to 5-4-1 in its last 10. After a shaky November, Montreal has a record of 18-12-4 on the season. This places them second in the Atlantic division, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings, with the game in hand on both the Red Wings and the Boston Bruins, who are tied with Montreal at 40 points. This turn around has been supported by excellent goal scoring. Montreal is eighth in the NHL for goals for. However, this incredible goal scoring is juxtaposed by the fifth-worst goals against allowed in the league. While the Canadiens have done well at activating their defenceman and getting offence from them, they’ve really struggled with helping support their goaltenders defensively. 

A lot of the offensive success from Montreal has come from its top stars. Captain Nick Suzuki leads the team with 10 goals and 39 points in 34 games. Behind him, Cole Caulfield has 17 goals and 34 points in 34 games. Star defenceman Lane Hutson has also played very well, following up on an incredible rookie season with five goals and 31 points through 34 games. Finally, rookie Ivan Demidov dolls has seven goals and 26 points in 34 games, an impressive start for the youngster. A large reason, however, that the defence has been so bad has been the lack of quality goaltending. Jakub Dobes has supplanted Sam Montembault as the starter. He is 12-5-2 with just an .893 save percentage. Montembault, meanwhile, is 5-6-1, likely playing himself out of contention for a goaltending spot on Team Canada’s roster for the Olympics. As Montreal did just a week and a half ago, they’ll have to shut down the Penguins again and score a few goals to make sure that the Penguins aren’t able to end their loss streak. 

NHL Prediction

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a downward spiral while the Montréal Canadiens are building momentum. Expect both of these to continue with a Montreal victory in this game.

NHL Prediction: Canadiens Win 5-3

Prop Bet of the Night

The Penguins and the Canadiens are both very offensive-minded teams and have both struggled with playing defence. With this in mind, a popular prop bet of goals over seven with odds of +186 is a good bet. 

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